Rite Aid begins selling tests for paternity

They are the first over-the-counter paternity tests.

The Washington Post

For years, women have been able to go to the drugstore to answer a question: pregnant or not? Now science has taken testing a step further, and those same drugstore shelves are stocking kits to answer another, equally pressing question: father or not?

The Identigene DNA paternity test was rolled out at Rite Aid stores nationwide this month and sells for $29.99 — plus $119.99 for laboratory processing. Identigene promises results that are at least 99 percent accurate in three to five days.

“This test really is about providing peace of mind, answering questions of paternity for people who simply want to know,” said Douglas Fogg, chief operating officer for Identigene, which is based in Salt Lake City.

Although Identigene’s product is the first kit to be sold in stores, at-home paternity tests have been available online for several years. The kits are just one more example of what some are calling the “democratization of DNA.” As the cost of decoding and analyzing our genes plummets, companies are even starting to offer “personalized genomics” tests to consumers that promise to help them discover what diseases they are likely to get or even who their soul mate may be.

Rite Aid started selling the paternity tests on the West Coast in November, the first time such a kit had been sold at a retail store. Fogg said his company sold 10,000 kits to the chain in three months. Ashley Flower, a Rite Aid spokeswoman, declined to comment on the product other than to confirm its existence.

“It’s just another product we’re able to offer our customers,” she said. “We always do try to be first to market with innovative health-care services.”

The testing kits are also available at Meijer stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Rite Aid has 5,000 stores in 31 states and Washington, D.C. The kits are unavailable in New York. CVS said it plans to begin carrying the kits on its Web site and in stores soon.

DNA paternity-testing kits have generally ranged from $400 to $2,000, according to the American Pregnancy Association, a nonprofit group. Identigene was able to lower the price on its kit because of the anticipated volume of sales, Fogg said.

The company has performed paternity tests for government agencies and family law practices for more than 15 years. About 10 years ago, it began selling DNA collection kits online directly to users. The idea to sell in stores came up about a year ago, when executives realized that they were missing customers who had no access to the Internet or were uncomfortable entering their personal information online.

Consumer sales now account for about half of Identigene’s business, Fogg said. As in most paternity tests, users must submit samples of DNA in the form of cheek swabs from the mother, child and purported father, to a laboratory for examination. Technicians analyze 16 locations on the chromosomes for each participant and assign a numeric value to each. The child’s DNA should contain half of the mother’s and half of the father’s. Negative readings are 100 percent conclusive, while positive readings are 99 percent accurate, Fogg said.

But though the reading may be accurate, don’t expect it to hold up in a court. Legal paternity tests require a third party to verify that the participants are who they say they are, among other things.