Ethical practice

NorthGene takes the responsibility of offering a relationship testing service very seriously. We follow the Voluntary Code of Practice and Guidance on Genetic Paternity Testing Services published by the Department of Health and keep up to date on the ethical issues surrounding such testing.

In compliance with the Human Tissues Act 2004 no DNA test will be carried out without the consent of each person involved or in the case of under 16 year olds the consent of a legal guardian.

We do not carry out DNA testing on children without the consent of their mother. We will only conduct testing in the absence of the mother in circumstances where she is unavailable for testing. All leading relationship testing companies in the UK support the Voluntary Code of Practice on so-called “motherless testing”. The reason for this policy is that most people feel that a mother should know if her child is being tested.

In cases of paternity we aim to act in the best interests of the child / children involved and therefore we will not carry out pre-natal testing.

We also offer curiosity (peace of mind) testing. Although the results from this type of test are completely accurate they cannot be used for any legal purpose. It is, therefore, important to think about the type of test you require as should you need the result for any legal reason in the future, such as a change to a child's birth certificate, the testing process will have to be done again as a Court Approved case. If you are unsure which type of test you require please contact our Customer Support Team.