How many familial relationship testing results could be wrong?

Abstract

Relationship testing was the first application of DNA-based technologies used for forensic purposes Indeed, DNA testing has been the gold standard of the forensics applications and greatly impacts society and individuals alike. According to American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) annual reports [2], about 400,000 relationship testing cases are performed each year within the AABB accredited laboratories residing mostly in the United States. This number is likely an underestimate; some laboratories did not report their numbers to AABB, and some laboratories provide services without accreditation. China has a similar number of relationship testing cases as that of the US, and the number of cases has been increasing due to recent national policy change DNA testings also are applied globally to address issues of fraud and abuse that arise with international migration and refugee family reunions Recently, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement established DNA testing sites at the southwest border to identify fraudulent familial relationships claimed by immigrants, which may test tens of thousands of cases per year In addition, many criminal cases and missing person identification cases rely on relationship testing. As of today, it is reasonable to estimate that more than 15 million relationship cases have been tested globally.

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