Application of DNA Fragment Analysis in Disputed Paternity (Maternity) and Identification of the Individual

ABSTRACT

This study is based on the data from expertise and research on disputed parentage and identification of individuals carried out at the laboratory for DNA analysis in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Deontology (DFMD) at the Medical Faculty of the Medical University—Sofia over a period of thirteen years (1998–2010). The results are compared with international research on the topic.

During the period 1998–2010 we worked on 680 cases for determining parentage, paternity and maternity. In 122 cases the tests concerned the exclusion of paternity (17.99%) based on the presence in the child's genotype of alleles that cannot have been inherited from the alleged biological father.

The presented data give us the opportunity to lay the foundations of a broader research concerning the parentage issues. For this purpose it is necessary to examine many other factors such as age, socio-economic status of respondents, social policy, behavioral manifestations in ethnic groups, etc.

Keywords:

• DNA
• paternity tests
• identification
• X and Y chromosome