A Canadian DNA testing company sold prenatal paternity tests to customers knowing the results were inaccurate, an investigation revealed.
Viaguard Accu-Metrics, based in Toronto, has sold non-invasive prenatal paternity tests since 2010, but an investigation by CBC News revealed that the tests were returning incorrect results, and that the company's owner was aware of this.
An undercover CBC journalist posing as a prospective customer, interviewed the owner of Viaguard, Harvey Tenenbaum, on hidden camera. In the footage, Tenenbaum admitted he knew of problems with the test, saying 'The test was not that accurate…. And we're leery of that test now'.
Tenenbaum confirmed he understood the consequences of inaccurate paternity tests, commenting 'There's a lot involved if it gets screwed up'.
Non Invasive prenatal testing uses fragments of the fetus' DNA which are present in the mother's bloodstream. Viaguard's test required pregnant women to send in a few drops of their blood taken from a finger prick, but Dr Mohammad Akbari, director of research at the molecular genetics laboratory at the Women's College Hospital in Toronto told CBC news that at least ten millilitres of blood taken from the mother's vein would be necessary to isolate enough fetal DNA for testing.
Instead, Viaguard employees told CBC news they were advised to take details of customer's menstrual cycles and dates they had intercourse with various men, which are not relevant to the DNA test. Staff would then input the dates into an ovulation calendar, to narrow down the father which Tenenbaum would then sign off.
The Standards Council of Canada stripped Viaguard of its accreditation in 2015 and Federal Court records suggest the organisation was aware of larger issues within the company, but the tests continued being sold.
Corale Mayer told CBC she paid $800 for Viaguard's test during her pregnancy in 2020. Unsure who was the father, she found the test via an online search and sent in the blood sample and cheek swab from the man she thought was most likely. After receiving a negative result she sent in a further swab from another man and was told this was a match.
She believed the results, telling CBC: 'It's a DNA company, it's science. It's black and white.'
Following the birth of her child, the man identified as the father demanded a postnatal paternity test. Mayer used Viaguard again to perform the test, although this time it revealed the man was not the biological father. A test from another laboratory identified the man Viaguard had ruled out as the child's biological father.
Mayer has since made contact with other Viaguard customers who shared similar experiences. 'When I found out there were other people … it was a relief,' she said. 'The main thing I want for Viaguard is for it to close down,' she added. 'I think that's a collective feeling. I don't think anyone would even imagine that it would still be open.'
Sources and References
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Canadian DNA lab knew its paternity tests identified the wrong dads, but it kept selling them
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Canadian DNA lab admits 'routinely sending out inaccurate results' that destroyed multiple families after biological dads were wrongly told children weren't theirs
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DNA lab knew its paternity tests identified the wrong dads — but kept selling them: report
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Canadian DNA lab sold paternity tests it knew were inaccurate
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How wrong prenatal paternity tests left a trail of shattered lives
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