Peace of Mind Testing - A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Register with NorthGene
You can register online or by calling our Customer Support Team on 0844 800 6951 or 0191 233 1414. Complete our registration form and make your initial payment of at least £99.00.

2. Sampling Kits Dispatched
In Peace of Mind cases you take your own samples. When we receive your completed form and your first instalment of payment we will send out the necessary sampling kit(s) to an address (or addresses) of your choice.

3. Sample(s) taken
Samples are taken by mouth swab and we will provide you with full instructions on how to complete this simple procedure.

Before taking the samples each adult must sign their consent form and stain card to say that they are happy for a DNA sample to be taken and a test to be run. In the case of children under the age of 16 their mother must sign the consent form on their behalf. Please note that this is a legal requirement.

The sample is taken by rubbing a sterile, cotton bud on the inside of the mouth and transfering the collected cells onto the stain card. Each disc of the stain card should turn white. The sample(s) will be returned to us in the tamper-evident bag and postage paid envelope provided.

We recommend that you witness each others samples being taken.

4. Test undertaken
Once all samples have been received our lab at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle will proceed with DNA testing. Processing time depends upon the type of test being undertaken. We will contact you when the report is ready to take the final instalment of our invoice. Upon receipt of this our report will be issued. In all cases we aim to issue the report to you as soon as possible.

Testing is undertaken in weekly batches in order to keep our prices down. Processing normally takes 7 working days. However if your sample is received after that week's analysis the samples will not be put on the system until the following week.