San José, Costa Rica. June, 2016.

Our grandmothers did not know the fact that paternity tests could be performed.

Many people continue to have doubts about paternity tests. How accurate are they? Is the procedure complicated? What happens if the father does not want to have the test done?

Myths about paternity tests are common. Although, as we will see, the tests are very reliable, accessible and simple to perform.

Myth 1:Paternity tests are not private.

Truth 1: Paternity tests are made in absolute privacy. At the Clínica Bíblica Hospital we offer you the service of taking this test at home, at your office or wherever you feel most comfortable, in the most absolute confidentiality, from Monday to Friday from 7 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon in the Great Metropolitan Area. You can also visit to our facilities, where we will assist you 24 hours seven days a week.

Myth 2: It is necessary that both the child and the father be at the same place in order to undergo the test.

Truth 2: It is not necessary that the child, the mother and the presumptive father find themselves at the same place to collect the sample. The presumptive father may take the test separately, whether directly at the facilities of the Clínica Bíblica Hospital or at a domicile inside the Great Metropolitan Area. The same applies for the child.

To perform the test, it is not necessary to take a sample from the mother. It could lead to a much more precise result, but it is not indispensable.

Myth 3: I am afraid of needles and I cannot see blood; that is why I do not take the test.

Truth 3: The paternity test is a procedure that does not involve taking blood. The sample is taken with a swab that takes the sample inside the cheek of the participant to gather a DNA sample, so that it is totally painless.

Myth 4: If the presumed father does not want to take the test, there is no way of knowing if the child is his.

Truth 4: The DNA can also be obtained from the paternal grandparents. However, in these cases the child could be the child of any of the sons of that family specifically, so it is not the most precise result, although it does greatly restrict the probabilities of who is the father.

Myth 5: The paternity tests take a long time and we need the results now.

Truth 5: The result of a paternity test can be obtained in less than 8 days.

Myth 6: Paternity tests are reliable if a blood sample is taken.

Truth 6: All the cells of a human being have the same DNA, so there is no great difference between the blood test and the test obtained with a swab. In both cases, the reliability of the result is of 99.99%.

Para mayor información, o para solicitar cita en cualquiera de las especialidades médicas, puede contactar al hospital privado Clínica Bíblica al teléfono 2522-1000, al correo electrónico contacto@clinicabiblica.com o vía chat en el sitio web: clinicabiblica.com.