A surge has been recorded in the number or paternity tests being requested at Greek DNA labs across the country since the beginning of 2019, according to forensics scientists.
Dr Leda Kovatsi, associate professor of forensic medicine and toxicology and head of the DNA Department at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUT) told Kathimerini that January and February are the lab’s busiest months.
According to Dr Kovatsi, the labs are receiving an increasing number of requests for tests primarily from men but also women who are uncertain about the paternity of a child.
“Very often it concerns children that have been born out of wedlock and men want to know it is really theirs before recognising them,” she said.
“We also have requests from spouses who have doubts about one of their children. We had a father who had three children out of wedlock, and while he was sure about the first two, he had doubts about the third,” she added, commenting that paternity tests in Greece are somewhat of a “seasonal product”.
“Over the holidays, families meet and they stir up doubts and old disagreements. Nobody bothers us in the summer,” she said.
