Prime
DNA labs to tighten paternity test rules
The Internal Affairs ministry last week reported that the number of men undertaking DNA tests to determine paternity of children shot up by 70 percent. PHOTO / COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Mr Fred Kwesiga, an analyst at the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) in Kampala, said the move is intended to eliminate conducting the tests secretly.
Government and private laboratories have said they now require the mother, father and the child to be present during sample collection for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) paternity testing.
Mr Fred Kwesiga, an analyst at the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) in Kampala, said the move is intended to eliminate conducting the tests secretly. He said the father and mother must consent to doing the tests, and one must be ready to take care of the child if the result turns out negative.
“Government is most interested in the custodial right of the minor in case of negative results. We don’t want a child to be abandoned here after the negative results because the father wants to do the test in secret. We are interested in the mother, who will give custodial consent. You must be sure the child is taken care of,” he said.
Mr Moses Kalule, a supervisor at one of the private laboratories doing DNA paternity testing in Kampala, said they are also following the same procedure.
“Before sample collection, we have to get documentation from all parties involved. We want all of them to consent. Especially, we shall be looking at the mother with the child and the father. Sometimes the father wants to do the tests in secret, we don’t allow that,” he said.
Mr Kalule added: “Usually, we collect the sample when all parties are around so that there is confidence in the results that will come out.”
Mr Kwesiga of GAL also said this is done to protect the laboratory in case one of the parties doubts or intends to sue the laboratory over the results.
“We even take their pictures when they come for sample collection so that we have a reference,” he said.
He said hair, saliva, semen, and blood all have DNA. “Blood is preferred when people walk in because it has more DNA,” he said.
The information about tightening the rules comes amid a move by the government to have stringent regulation on the operations of laboratories carrying out DNA paternity tests.
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson of the Health ministry, said in a bid to regulate operations of laboratories doing DNA paternity testing, they held a meeting with managers of some laboratories yesterday.
He didn’t divulge what was discussed, but some private laboratories told our reporter that the ministry wants to tighten the rule of operations to ensure quality.
“It is until the discussions are concluded that the minister [of Health] will give a statement. This will happen in a week or two because there is a lot of work ongoing,” Mr Ainebyoona said.
Yesterday’s meeting was sanctioned by Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, the director of public health at the ministry. The facilities included MBN clinical laboratory, ATCG Solutions Laboratory and Little Oak Laboratory.
In a July 4 letter to private laboratory owners, Dr Kyabayinze said although the country has developed a strong laboratory capacity to conduct tests, “including DNA paternity” testing, “the Ministry of Health has, however, noted with concern, the issues arising from the DNA paternity testing, including the resulting domestic violence, suicides and the general disturbances to the families and the society”.
