Paternity tests booming
2001-08-15 15:37
Frankfurt - Increasingly more German men are taking paternity tests to ensure they are the real fathers of their children, and a growing industry of private laboratories is catering to the demand.
Demand for the tests boomed following the recent Boris Becker case, in which the former tennis star took such a DNA test to determine whether he should pay maintenance to the mother of a child in London, said Angelika Loesch, manager of the private laboratory ID-Labors in Wiesbaden.
"The news is spreading that such tests are possible and are not at all expensive," she said.
The laboratories only need a sample of saliva or hair to carry out the test. Around 3 000 people have sought a paternity test from ID-Labors since the company was set up two years ago.
The German medical newspaper "Aerzte Zeitung" recently calculated, with reference to British studies, that at least
7 000 babies born in Germany each year have a different father than is supposed.
Christine Ringholz, who carries out paternity tests for the German Red Cross, said most customers seeking paternity tests are men. "Sometimes the father of a family might have heard a rumour or his wife has admitted to having an affair," she said. Then men want to find out for certain.
A test at the Red Cross costs DM3000 ($1 350). But
the results are "at least 99.9% " certain, said Ringholz. As well as a DNA analysis, the organisation additionally carries out tests on blood groups and blood corpuscles.
Laboratories say some of their customers are women seeking to find out who is the father of their child. But the majority of their clients are men who are disputing paternity in a lawsuit demanding they pay maintenance for a child.
Before such a case goes to court, at which point it becomes very
expensive, the parties try to make an out-of-court settlement, said Richard Zehnerof the Frankfurt Legal-Medical Centre.
But ID-Labors reports that sometimes their clients are also parents who suspect their daughter-in-law of infidelity, or even children from second marriages proving their inheritance rights.
New, simpler analysis techniques have led to the increase in
private laboratories. All they need is the right machine into which
they feed information and wait for the result,
said Helmut Adamek, chairman of the lobby of experts who carry out paternity assessments.
He accused them of "gold-digger mentalities", saying not all of them are reputable. "You only need to put a few of your own and your children's hairs into an envelope and they will supply a report," he said.
But the laboratories dispute this. There is usually a "huge amount of suffering" in each case, said Angelika Loesch. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA