Paternity DNA testing kit, Utah, United States, 2000

Paternity DNA testing kit from Affiliated Genetics Inc, Utah, USA. The kit contains six buckle swabs.

Because a parents’ genes, carried in DNA, are passed to their children, tests can be carried out to determine, for instance, whether a particular man is the biological father of a child. With this kit, two swabs are required from the mother, child and father and would be sent for DNA testing within 24 hours. The samples are taken by rotating the brushes, supplied in plastic tubes, for thirty seconds in the right cheek.

The manufacturers, Affiliated Gene Inc, state that the results are confidential but cannot be used as court evidence. The test costs $325 (roughly £220).