What to look for when choosing a genetic laboratory? Are all certificates created equal? Before making your decision, think about what you expect, in addition to being certain of the genetic test results. After all, the quality of service, waiting time and price also count.

When choosinggenetic laboratoryit is worth paying attention to those features that we - our clients - care about the most. First, clarify your expectations regarding the price, method of performing the test and waiting time for the result, and then make a decision which laboratory to choose. The choice is not easy, especially for a person who does not know this environment, and thus is not able to notice some nuances.

Of course, the basis for choosing a laboratory is the certainty of the results, which is guaranteed to us. It can be confirmed by the methods described below. First of all, it is necessary to check whether the given center is registered as a laboratory at all. It is rare for a laboratory to operate illegally, but you can never be too careful.

What certificates does the genetic laboratory have?

Virtually every laboratory refers to the obtained certificates, which actually proves it well. However, in laboratories that have a very wide range of services, there are no universal quality certificates for all tests. Therefore, if you are going to perform a paternity test, it is worth checking whether the laboratory may prove to be a certificate for this test.

Which certificates apply to paternity tests?

Two certification programs are popular in the forensic genetics community:

  • GEDNAP - a program organized by the German Society of Forensic Medicine assesses the quality of DNA profiling by a given laboratory.
  • ISFG - the program organized by the International Association of Forensic Genetics assesses the quality of paternity and kinship analyzes.

This certification is open to any laboratory that is able to obtain results in accordance with the guidelines of the certification committee.

Genetic lab experience

It is worth checking since when a given laboratory has been performing paternity tests. In our country, paternity tests have become "fashionable", which is why many laboratories, which so far provided services only in the field of medical diagnostics, havedecision to include paternity determination in the offer. It can often be noticed that these laboratories report very large amounts of tested samples in their statistical data. It is worth asking what percentage of these samples relates strictly to paternity tests. Years of professional practice allow you to gain experience, especially in unusual cases, when an accurate assessment of the results is important.

Cooperation with foreign genetic laboratories

Publications in the press or statements of many experts were often focused on criticism of laboratories that "commissioned research abroad". Indeed, the mediation itself from the customer's point of view is not profitable and it is better to have the test performed in a laboratory that performs the tests on site. Nevertheless, some self-testing laboratories cooperate on a permanent basis with similar laboratories operating in other countries. From the point of view of exchanging experiences or mutual consultations, such cooperation has many advantages.

Quality of customer service

There are other factors that many laboratories do not talk about that may be decisive for the customer making their choice. Regardless of the service itself, each client has specific expectations as to the level of service, response time to his inquiries, understanding in the face of insufficient knowledge, flexibility and openness, especially in difficult cases. When contacting the laboratory, the client expects to be treated individually as he reports on his personal, very big problem. It needs understanding, because the situation is not always easier, and the laboratory itself will have to add a few lines to get the result.

It is also worth paying attention to whether there are any additional restrictions that may prevent the test from being performed. These include the lack of a sampling point close to the place of residence, the inability to send the results abroad, the inability to commission an anonymous test, and the narrow range of samples that a given laboratory is able to test.

These are only some of the factors that can affect the customer's decision. It is also worth asking the laboratory whether it has procedures for any possible complaints from the client. In addition, it is good to check if the laboratory is open to helping the client in difficult matters that require non-standard activities, such as transport to the place indicated by the client, arranging the collection of material in another country, and many others.

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