An aunt/uncle test establishes the biological relationship with a child and aunts or uncles. An aunt /uncle DNA test is based on the fact that a child inherits half of his or her genetic profile from each biological parent. If one of a child’s parents is missing or deceased, an aunt or uncle can be profiled to determine if they contributed to the child’s DNA profile. The results of this test will reveal whether or not the child is related to that family.

Aunt/uncle DNA testing is often initiated because of doubts about a missing or deceased alleged father’s paternity; therefore, most of these tests involve the participation of the alleged father’s biological relatives. The participants of an aunt/uncle test must include the child and the relative in question. The mother of the child is encouraged to participate as well.

With the mother’s DNA sample available, the laboratory can identify and eliminate her contribution to the child’s genetic profile. We can however still perform an aunt /uncle test if the child’s mother is unavailable for testing.

The turnaround time for this test is 3-5 working days. This test can be used for personal or legal purposes.

Alternatively a Y STR test can be performed if the child is male and the uncle’s sample is available on the alleged father’s side.