Establishing paternity
Establishing paternity gives a child a legal father who is then bestowed rights and obligations relating to the care of his child. Paternity can be established if the child was born in wedlock or if the man and woman are unmarried but sign a paternity affidavit, or a court establishes paternity.
Paternity can be established by agreement between the man and woman (parents) or through genetic testing. However, DNA or genetic testing is essentially used to establish paternity when there is dispute about the identity of the child’s father.
Cases of stolen or missing babies add to the problem. The case of a sperm bank owner who allegedly fathered 60 children after he secretly switched donors’ semen with his own, also comes to mind.
After the 89-year-old doctor passed away families have come forward with the shocking claim and pursuing DNA tests to see if he used his own sperm to father their children.
Dr Abayomi Ajayi, Medical Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos notes that practice of mixing eggs is unethical. “How do you determine which egg belongs to who and now we’re already doing three parent conception. I don’t think it’s ethical. “The identity of the baby matters and that is why now in the UK when you use donor eggs you’re required by law to tell the baby once he attains 18. That law doesn’t apply here in Nigeria for now maybe with time it will be applicable because there should be no hush hush about anything concerning parenting.”
According to Ajayi, many fathers are not just suspecting that they may not be biological fathers of their children. There are situations coming up that desire the need for DNA testing such as American or Canadian visa lottery.
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