About avuncular testing

Results will be emailed to you within 7-14 working days from receipt of your samples at our Laboratory.

Aunt or uncle DNA testing is an alternative to paternity testing for when the alleged father of a child is unavailable for the test. Comparing the DNA of the child to that of their aunts or uncles can help confirm whether they are blood relatives. If the child is unrelated to their uncles and aunts, it indicates that the child’s father is also not the child’s biological father. The lab cannot perform this test if the aunt / uncle is NOT a full sibling to the alleged father in question.

Avuncular tests are done in the place of paternity test. The alleged father of the children in these cases is unable to carry out a paternity test and thus, seeks to establish paternity indirectly by testing his relatives (brothers or sisters). An avuncular test will not provide the same conclusive results one would expect from a paternity test and test results are intended to provide a statistical likelihood that gives evidence to support the tested relationship in question.

Testing the alleged father and child in a paternity test will provide extremely accurate results (in excess of 99.99%) in cases where the tested father is the biological father. When carrying out an aunt/uncle test the results will only show a probability of relationship. Adding the mother’s sample will help provide a more accurate result. This is because testing an alleged father’s siblings will only allow us to determine half of his genes. Having the mother’s sample enables scientists to quickly eliminate her share of genetic inheritance in the child’s DNA. The price for the Aunt & Uncle Test is From 4,750 HKD.

We strongly suggest including the sample of a known parent to provide stronger results.

Results

As with all relationship DNA testing, the inclusion of the sample of the other known parent (usually the mother) is recommended to strengthen the results. The result of the test indicates the probability of relationship; we normally take >80% to indicate the existence of a relationship and <20% to indicate there is no biological relationship.

Note: We can only guarantee standard result turnaround time when testing takes place solely using oral swab samples. Using a discreet sample for your test may lead to an increase in turnaround time.

Testing for male relatives: Y chromosome test

Y chromosome testing is strongly recommended when those individuals involved in the test are males. This is because any males who descend from the same paternal line will have a copy of the same Y chromosome. If a DNA test shows that two or more males share the same Y chromosome, it means that they also share a common paternal relative. Get more information about our Y chromosome testing.