Why Is Accreditation Important When Choosing A Lab
Acreditation, What Does It Matter Anyway?
Some DNA testing laboratories advertise themselves as "accredited" by the AABB (which previously stood for the American Association of Blood Banks) while others do not. Our lab is Accredited by the AABB and ISO 17025. You may see our lab listed on the aabb site under The Genetic Testing Laboratory in Las Cruses New Mexico, and you can reach us toll free at (877) 786-9543. Accredited laboratories have passed a rigorous review and inspection of their testing processes and laboratory to insure that tests are being done accurately and thoroughly. Accredited laboratories also participate in proficiency DNA testing and are re-inspected annually. In order for a DNA test to be admissible in court, the DNA test must be performed by an accredited paternity testing laboratory. Purchasing a paternity test through an unaccredited laboratory is at best a gamble; it may be cheaper, but should you sacrifice quality for such an important test?
What Would It Gain You To Save A Few Dollars, Yet Receive False DNA Test Results!
Before You Buy Your Paternity DNA test, Consider These Facts:
- ALL OUR DNA TESTS INCLUDE FREE NEXT-DAY FEDEX RETURN OF THE SAMPLES! Our competitors use USPS snail mail for returned kits which is very slow and untraceable. With us you're certain when we received samples. DON'T RISK DNA SAMPLES GETTING LOST?
(Our 3 Day Guarantee Is Really 3 Days.) - Our lab is truly A.A.B.B. accredited, and does all their own tests and NEVER subs them out. If their lab results are not trusted in a court of law, should you trust them in your home?
- We offer at home, professional or at facility DNA collection of your court admissible DNA testing. We offer you the cheapest option for your court admissible DNA tests.
- We do not play bait & switch, compare what we offer Apples To Apples to what they do, and we're certain you will agree we offer the best paternity testing service at the lowest prices.
Our lab's AABB accredited tests are admissible in court. What good would it serve you to save a few dollars on DNA testing, and yet receive false results?
REMEMBER IF THE COURTS DO NOT TRUST THEIR RESULTS, SHOULD YOU??
Please Call Us @ (877) 786-9543 Or E-mail US: Sales@paternity-usa.com
A Case Manager Is Standing By To Answer Your Questions, And Take Your Order.
CHOOSE THE TYPE OF DNA TEST YOU NEED BELOW:
New Mexico State University
Our Laboratory is the first for-profit technology corporation spun off from New Mexico State University, and is a product of NMSU's ongoing research and expertise in the biotechnology and informatics fields. NMSU's top-notch Ph.D. Scientists and investment from the private sector seeded our lab’s continuing and promising growth. Since its inception, our lab has maintained a partnership with NMSU and continues to benefit from the expertise of its scientists.
AABB
Our Lab is one of only a handful of DNA testing laboratories actually accredited by the AABB (previously known as the American Association of Blood Banks). Accredited laboratories have passed a rigorous review and inspection of their testing processes and laboratory to insure that tests are being done accurately and thoroughly. Accredited laboratories also participate in proficiency tests and are re-inspected bi-annually. Only an accredited DNA test is admissible in a court of law in the USA.
Click here to view our Lab’s CERTIFICATE OF ACCREDITATION from the AABB.
NATA
The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation provides a means of determining, recognizing and promoting the competence of facilities to perform specific types of testing and provides formal recognition to competent testing facilities, thus providing a ready means for customers to identify and select reliable testing services. To maintain this recognition, laboratories are re-evaluated periodically by NATA to ensure their continued compliance with requirements, and to check that their standard of operation is being maintained. The laboratory is also required to participate in relevant proficiency testing programs between reassessments, as a further demonstration of technical competence. NATA is the most difficult Accreditation for a Parentage Testing Laboratory to attain due to its rigorous quality and security requirements.
Click here to view our Lab’s Accreditation With NATA.
Click here to view our Lab's ACCREDITED LABORATORY CERTIFICATE from the NATA.
Click here to view our Lab's SCOPE OF ACCREDITATION from the NATA.
SafeHarbor
The European Commission’s Directive on Data Protection went into effect in October of 1998, and would prohibit the transfer of personal data to non-European Union nations that do not meet the European “adequacy” standard for privacy protection. While the United States and the European Union share the goal of enhancing privacy protection for their citizens, the United States takes a different approach to privacy from that taken by the European Union. In order to bridge these different privacy approaches and provide a streamlined means for U.S. organizations to comply with the Directive, the U.S. Department of Commerce in consultation with the European Commission developed a "Safe Harbor" framework and this website to provide the information an organization should need to evaluate – and then join – the Safe Harbor.
ISO 17025
ISO 17025 is the global standard for the technical competence of calibration and testing labs. As a laboratory accredited to ISO 17025:2005, Our Lab has incorporated an overall system for technical and quality management. This results in superior laboratory practices and customer service. We have implemented the ISO 17025 quality system in our laboratory and are fully accredited as of April 2007.
Our Quality Management Statement: Management is committed to being very aggressive in our attitude towards quality of our testing in servicing our customers, good professional practices and customer service, primarily since we want to be ranked as the "best" in our business. Our employees remain clearly focused on the Quality System so they may effectively implement the policies and procedures in their casework and quality control functions.
Click Here to view our lab's ISO 17025:2005 Certificate of Accreditation.
A2LA
The A2LA is the largest multi-discipline laboratory accreditation system in the United States and is recognized by Accreditation Bodies in the European Union and other International Communities. A2LA accreditation imposes stricter requirements than ISO 17025: 2005 certification alone, particularly focusing on technical competence, traceability of measurements and the overall proficiency of the laboratory.
A2LA is a non-profit, non-governmental, public service, membership society whose mission is to: meet the needs of both laboratories and their users for competent testing; improve the quality of laboratories and the data they produce; and increase acceptance of accredited laboratory data to facilitate trade, based on internationally accepted criteria for competence (ISO / IEC 17025:2005).
Our Laboratory is one of the few DNA Laboratories to possess the prestigious A2LA Accreditation.
Click Here to view our lab's ISO 17025:2005 Certificate of Accreditation.
ISO 9001
In light of the amendment of ISO 9001:2008, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have issued a revised communiqué declaring that the management system requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 meet the principles of ISO 9001:2008.
ILAC has issued a covering letter dated 8 January 2009, explaining the rationale for the communiqué.
Texas DPS
The TXDPS Crime Lab Accreditation Program was created on September 1, 2003. Laboratories performing forensic DNA analysis of criminal evidence must be accredited by DPS in order for that laboratory's results and testimony to be admissible in court or criminal proceedings. A laboratory may apply to the Director for statutory DPS accreditation if accreditation is required for evidence admissibility under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.35. Accreditation is part of a laboratory's quality assurance program, which should also include proficiency testing, continuing education, customer liaison, and other programs to help the laboratory provide more effective overall service.
Click here to view a copy of our accreditation certificate.
Click here to view a listing of accredited labs.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP)
The College of American Pathologists, the principal organization of board-certified pathologists, serves and represents the interest of patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine. Our lab is a member of CAP, and participates in its proficiency testing program.
Click here to view our current CAP Certificate.
Food and Drug Administration
Our Lab's paternity testing DNA kits contain sterile components specifically designed for collection of samples requiring analysis using current DNA profiling techniques. Swabs and lancets are sterilized in accordance with ANSI/AMMI/ISO Guidelines and are validated as “sterile” by third party FDA registered facilities. You may have total confidence in knowing that the products used to collect your samples are in compliance with the strictest requirements in the world, ensuring your safety and personal health.
ILAC-MRA
The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) first started as a conference in 1977 with the aim of developing international cooperation for facilitating trade by promotion of the acceptance of accredited test and calibration results. In 1996, ILAC became a formal cooperation with a charter to establish a network of mutual recognition agreements among accreditation bodies that would fulfill this aim. The ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (often referred to as the ILAC Arrangement) is the culmination of 22 years of intensive work.
The arrangement came into effect on 31 January 2001. The ILAC Arrangement provides significant technical underpinning to international trade. The key to the Arrangement is the developing global network of accredited testing and calibration laboratories that are assessed and recognized as being competent by ILAC Arrangement signatory accreditation bodies. The signatories have, in turn, been peer-reviewed and shown to meet ILAC's criteria for competence. Now that the ILAC Arrangement is in place, governments can take advantage of it to further develop or enhance trade agreements. The ultimate aim is increased use and acceptance by industry as well as government of the results from accredited laboratories, including results from laboratories in other countries. In this way, the free-trade goal of "a product tested once and accepted everywhere" can be realized.
A list of the ILAC-MRA signatories and the scopes of accreditation we are accredited to due to our ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation through A2LA (Testing certificate 2574.01) can be found here.
CLIA
Congress passed the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in 1988 establishing quality standards for all laboratory testing to ensure the accuracy, reliability and timeliness of patient test results regardless of where the test was performed. A laboratory is defined as any facility which performs laboratory testing on specimens derived from humans for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment of disease, or impairment of, or assessment of health. CLIA is user fee funded; therefore, all costs of administering the program must be covered by the regulated facilities. Our CLIA ID number is 32D1086620.
Click here to view our CLIA certificate.
Fire And Crime Scene Advanced Continuing Education
FACS-ACE is a vital resource that provides Law Enforcement and Fire Investigators with the skills and training they need to perform their duties while exceeding minimal requirements for advanced training.
Our lab Genetic Testing Laboratories, Inc. is the founder and principal sponsor of the Fire and Crime Scene Advanced Continuing Education (FACS-ACE) conference held several times per year in Las Cruces, New Mexico. FACS-ACE offers world-class instruction and hands-on training for Law Enforcement, Firefighters and other first responders in the areas of crime and fire scene preservation and evidence handling and collection. This international conference includes training staff members at the top of their respective fields, including:
- Dr. Arthur Eisenberg, former chairman of the FBI DNA Advisory Board
- Dr. Gill King, Deputy Medical Examiner of El Paso County
- Gary Reaves, former prosecutor, corporate counsel for El Paso Municipal Police Offices Association, past Director, State Bar of Texas
- Dianna Taylor, C.F.E.I. , C.V.F.I., Ignis Forensics, Castle Rock, Colorado
- Dr. Peter Lammers, Director of the Genetic Testing Laboratories, Inc. and Professor of Biochemistry at NMSU
- Dr. John Spalding, Co-Director of the Genetic Testing laboratories, Inc. and Adjunct Assoc. Professor of Molecular Biology at NMSU.
When you compare apples to apples what our lab offers against those of the many other labs in the marketplace you will find that we truly offer the highest quality DNA tests at what are among the lowest prices. Other labs simply hide shipping costs/methods or do not provide return shipping back to their laboratory. Some offer results within 2-3 days, but be aware the samples are often returned to them in untraceable USPS mail. If you would like help in comparing what we offer to other quotes you received, Call Us At (877) 786-9543.
Before You Buy Your Paternity DNA Test, Consider These Facts:
- ALL OUR DNA TESTS INCLUDE FREE NEXT-DAY FEDEX RETURN OF THE SAMPLES! Our competitors use USPS snail mail for returned kits which is very slow and untraceable. With us you're certain when we received samples. DON'T RISK DNA SAMPLES GETTING LOST?
(Our 3 Day Guarantee Is Really 3 Days.) - Our lab is truly A.A.B.B. accredited, does all their own tests, and NEVER subs them out. If their lab results are not trusted in a court of law, should you trust them in your home?
- We offer at home or professional DNA collection of your court admissible DNA testing. This is the cheapest option for your legal DNA testing.
- We do not play bait & switch, compare what we offer "Apples To Apples" to what they do, and we're certain you'll agree we offer the best paternity testing service at the lowest prices.
Our lab's AABB accredited tests are admissible in court. What good would it serve you to save a few dollars on DNA testing, and yet risk receiving false results?
REMEMBER IF THE COURTS DO NOT TRUST THEIR RESULTS, SHOULD YOU??
