T4D™

Grandparent Age Test - DNA testing for lineage!!

Grandparent Age Test is a kind of DNA test that determines family relationships.

DNA Testing or Profiling is a technique used for identification of individuals by their respective DNA patterns and is generally used in parental testing, undertaken for a variety of reasons. It can be used to examine the relationship between a child and a possible parent or grandparent. When the test is undertaken for the purpose of determining maternal or paternal ancestry, it is referred to as Grandparent age Test.

When & Why is it done?

The necessity for this test arises in cases where the alleged parent is not available - either because he is not alive or because he is unwilling to undergo the test. In such situations, the alleged father's parents, i.e. the grandparents of the child, can be tested for genetic patterns, in order to determine whether they are the true biological grandparents of the child in question. Alternatively, it can also be used to verify the biological identity of a child's father or mother.

A variety of scenarios calls for a Grandparent age Test. These may include situations arising out of strained relationships between the father and mother of the child leading the grandparents to emotional turbulence. The parents might not have been married and if they proceed to part ways later in life, grandparents might want to make sure that they have a biological connection with the grandchildren.

Sometimes a widowed mother would also initiate this test, asking the grandparents to participate in the test to establish paternity. There may arise situations where grandparents might become liable for supporting the grandchildren financially, then this test might make it just sure for them they are supporting their own biological lineage.

Similarly when the grandparents wish to get custody of the child from the mother fearing unsafe circumstances with her, then they might consider undergoing this test prior to taking any legal action. Other possible reasons could be cases relating to inheritance claims, immigration, adoption, and reunification of the family after a long gap etc, any of them with or without legal implications.

How is it done?

The test involves three parties primarily - the child in question and both the grandparents, i.e. the grandfather and the grandmother. As the test itself is initiated usually in cases of suspected parentage, the biological parents of the possible father are involved. Participation of the mother in the test helps in elimination of her contribution to the child's genetic profile, thus making it easier to establish the paternal grandparent age. However, her participation is not absolutely necessary.

If only one of the grandparents participates in or is alive, then the test is referred to as single grandparent age test. However the problem with such test is that a single grandparent usually only contributes 25% of the genetic pattern of the child, thus bringing down the likelihood of grandparent age.

A similar test performed with the grandchild and the maternal grandparents would establish whether they are biologically related to each other. This is called maternal grandparent age testing.

On the other hand, in order to establish the parentage of father, the mother also would be tested along with the grandparents. Similarly if the father is tested apart from grandparents, parentage of the mother is verified.

For all the parties undergoing the test, samples of DNA are collected by Buccal Swabs in a professional way. While there are still other ways for sample collection, this is by far the most consistent and popular alternative. In cases with legal implications, samples are collected through a chain-of-custody legal procedure.

The results of a Grandparent Age Test indicate either of the two results very conclusively - the grandparents are the biological ancestors of the grandchild or are not.