DNA test firm offers ‘infidelity tests’ on intimate clothing to partners who suspect other half of cheating
SUSPICIOUS partners now have a way of proving adultery with crime scene-style DNA tests on intimate items of clothing.
The East Sussex company, AffinityDNA is offering an infidelity test service for people concerned about what their other half could be getting up to.
The DNA analysis firm in Hove describes the test as a “powerful tool for those wishing to have a scientific indication of whether cheating has taken place”.
Customers are invited to send in “evidence of an affair” such as underwear or used condoms, or “any suspicious sample you believe might have human biological material”.
AffinityDNA also offers a £90 “semen detection test” to check a piece of fabric and a £299 “gender” test to reveal whether the sample is from a man or a woman.
The most expensive test invites customers to post their own sample and the “suspicious” one for a comparison test.
Both samples are then tested to determine whether they belong to the same person or not.
One satisfied customer wrote in a testimonial on AffinityDNA’s website: “Thank you very much for your help in this (very difficult matter).
“I sincerely appreciate the service.”
But the tests have prompted warnings from legal experts that the tests on underwear or bedsheets may be illegal without the consent of those involved.
Overseas companies that advertise such services, including those based in America and Ireland, refuse to process samples from the UK.
The Human Tissue Act 2004 states that it’s a crime to possess someone’s bodily material with intent to perform DNA analysis on it without their consent.
The crime is punishable by three years in prison.
HomeDNADirect based in Kent has been running Google ads that appear under searches for “DNA testing without consent”.
It offers analysis on condoms, cigarette buts, fingernails, strands of hair and chewing-gum.
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Kevin Camilleri, of HomeDNADirect told The Times it was “very strict” and did not carry out tests without the full consent of everybody involved.
“In the end, people have to assume their own responsibility,” he said.
“We try and weed it out but in the end they might fake the documents.”
Human Tissue Act 2004
The law covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland with the issue of consent as its most fundamental principle.
The 2004 act states that it is unlawful to have human tissue with the intention of its DNA being analysed and without the consent of the person from whom the tissue came from.
Offences under the Human Tissue Act 2004:
- Removing, storing or using human tissue for Scheduled Purposes without appropriate consent.
- Storing or using human tissue donated from a Scheduled Purpose for another purpose.
- Trafficking in human tissue for transplantation purposes.
- Carrying out licensable activities without holding a licence from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
- Having human tissue, including hair, nail and gametes (cells connected with sexual reproduction) with the intention of its DNA being analysed without the consent of the person from whom the tissue came or those close to them if they have died.