Genetic testing on the increase in Taiwan

“Even though nowadays the younger generations are not concerned about this taboo, every month, on average, we still see one or two couples with the same surname who, under pressure from their older generations, get tested before they get married to prove that they are not related,” he points out. “The results virtually always come back negative for blood relation.”

“Couples who are in fact consanguineous almost always already know it, and come to us not so much for testing, but for genetic counseling to find out if there would be any problems with their offspring,” he says.

Other cases have also raised many an eyebrow at the medical genetics department.

“A man once brought his bedsheets because he suspected his wife had committed adultery when he was away on a business trip,” Su recounts.

“Some people have brought human ashes, or asked us to extract specimens from cadavers to determine biological relation for legal entitlement purposes,” he offers as other curious requests.

“While it is possible to use such samples to conduct genetic analysis, we do not normally perform these types of forensic tests as they fall under the realm of the Criminal Investigation Bureau,” he explains. “We do not carry out tests without consent of the individual, although we will perform them only in the case of court orders.”

Asked by The China Post whether there have been cases in Taiwan of twins with different fathers, a rare occurrence that has been known to happen in the case of fraternal twins, Su says that although theoretically possible, he has not heard of any such cases in Taiwan. “At least in our testing we have not uncovered this.”

“Of course, as it is often the case, the mother is the only one who knows best,” he adds with a smile.

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