Charlotte Haskayne, Business Manager at Northgene, joins the Today’s Family Lawyer Podcast to lift the lid on the realities of legal DNA testing and its growing role in modern family law.
Where is DNA evidence crucial? What role does it play in the courts? Haskayne discusses her experience with court‑ordered paternity disputes to the rapidly rising number of surrogacy‑related parental order applications; indeed surrogacy cases have “quadrupled” in the past decade, driving demand for clear, scientific confirmation of biological parentage to avoid intrusive adoption processes .
There is a short science lesson as Haskayne demystifies the process, explaining how short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is used to establish biological relationships with accuracy levels of 99.99% or higher, and why strict chain‑of‑custody procedures are essential for legal testing. As she puts it, there must be “absolutely no doubt” that samples come from the correct individuals, distinguishing legal testing from at‑home peace‑of‑mind kits .
And what about ethics... particularly the tension between a child’s right to know their biological heritage and the potential disruption to established family relationships. Ultimately, Haskayne stresses that decisions must be made “solely in the best interests of the child”, with the role of testing providers being to deliver clear, accurate, timely results to support that process .
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