Modern genetics allows for the use of several methods that make it possible to establish paternity without the direct involvement of the father. For this purpose, the father's DNA is tested on the basis of genetic material left on everyday objects; Y chromosome analysis (in the case of the boy's father); examination of the relatives of the deceased father (in the case of the girl's father).
Does the death of a potential father make it impossible to reach the truth? No, because current genetic techniques allow the use of samples once belonging to the deceased or include the closest members of his family in the study.
Such problems are often faced by mothers who have not managed to settle legal issues related topaternityof their child. Unless there has been a burial, the matter is not that complicated yet, as material can be taken directly from the deceased man for examination, such as a cheek swab, hair torn out with bulbs or a piece of tissue. Later, an exhumation would be necessary in order to be able to use the material directly from the deceased father. However, the process is quite complicated, for example from the point of view of legal formalities.
Therefore, modern genetics allows the use of several methods that make it possible to establish paternity without the need for the direct participation of the father:
1. Analysis of father's samples that potentially contain his DNA
This methodof establishing paternitywas initially described at the beginning of the article. Quite often, after a person's death, their family is in possession of various materials that once belonged to the deceased, such as toothbrushes, razors or handkerchiefs with blood stains on them. From such materials it is possible to successfully extract the father's DNA and then compare it with the child's DNA. This is a typical paternity test, with the difference that an atypical sample from the father is included in the test (standard paternity tests are swabbed on the inside of the cheek).
2. Study of the Y chromosome in men
If the child is male and there are male family members of the deceased, an analysis of the Y chromosome, which is only found in males, can be performed.
A method that usesa Y chromosome analysisis based onthe principle that each man passes on the Y chromosome to his son, which in turn passes it on to his son. And so it goes from generation to generation. The Y chromosome undergoes any changes very slowly, so when analyzing the genetic material of the grandfather and the potential grandson, one should obtain identical profiles of the Y chromosome, if the men are genuinely related to each other.
The analysis of the Y chromosome is not performed when paternity is established between two brothers, because each of them has the same Y chromosome, just like the tested child.
3. Inclusion of the relatives of the deceased father in the study
The sex of the tested child is very important from the point of view of choosing the method that the laboratory will use to determine paternity. If the child is female then it is not possible to use Y chromosome analysis as it is only present in males. In such a situation, the study includes material from the closest family members of the deceased father, regardless of gender. It could be the mother, sister or other child of the deceased. The more people included in the test, the higher the probability of the obtained result will be.
This method consists first in determining the genetic profiles of the subjects - as is the case in the classicpaternity tests , and then conducting a specialized statistical analysis to estimate the probability of kinship between the surveyed persons. Very high sensitivity of the result is obtained in the case of examining both parents of the deceased father and a potential granddaughter.