Anyone seeking a paternity test no longer has to deal with high costs, Internet access, or national exposure on TV talk shows.

Now all it takes is a trip to the drugstore.

Identigene (ENLARGE)

The Identigene DNA Paternity Test Kit costs $29 and comes with a $119 laboratory processing fee. Rite Aid rolled out national sales of the over-the-counter paternity tests at more than 4,300 stores in 30 states, including more than 10 stores in the Atlanta metro area.

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Rite Aid (which also owns Eckerd stores) rolled out national sales of over-the-counter paternity tests at more than 4,300 stores in 30 states including more than 10 stores in the Atlanta metro area. Only Rite Aid stores in New York do not currently carry the kits. Meijer, a store with locations in five states, also sells the tests.

"Over-the-counter sales offers a completely new marketing channel for DNA testing," said Doug Fogg, COO of Identigene, the company that makes the kits sold at Rite Aid. "It makes the process more convenient and affordable while ensuring reliability and confidentiality."

The Identigene DNA Paternity Test Kit costs $29 and requires a $119 laboratory processing fee. Users swab the inside of the mouth to collect a DNA sample which is then sent to Identigene with consent forms and fees in a postage-paid return envelope. Confidential results, available in three to five business days of receipt, can be obtained via mail, e-mail, or through a secured web site.

Paternity testing , which has been available previously via the Internet, is just one example of the direct-to-consumer tests that have hit the general market in the last two years, said Julianne O'Daniel, a research and genetic counseling associate in at Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. There are about 10 companies that offer tests ranging from ancestry to various medical conditions, she said.

Rite Aid trial tested sales of the paternity kits at its West Coast stores in November. While the company says the response has been positive, the increased access of the test comes with some concerns.

"It raises some benefits and some detriments," said O'Daniel. "Individuals that may not be able to afford testing otherwise may be able to if they have this kind of question." On the other hand , she said, "Having it in a store kind of raises the prevalence of this testing in people's minds." And a paternity test isn't exactly the kind of thing you want to buy on impulse.

It isn't always easy to accept that relationships may not be what they seem, O'Daniel said, and of course, there are legal matters.

In order for the Identigene paternity test to stand up in court, users can pay an additional fee for the company to refer them to a DNA collection site that will verify identities and oversee the sample taking.

Angela Trepanier, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, said it pays to consider everything from lab certification to consumer friendliness of the website, before investing in any direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Increased access, she said, comes with consequences.

"Think before you spit," she said.