Conventional fingerprint occurs only on the fingertips and can be altered by surgery. DNA fingerprint is the same for every tissue, and organ of a person and it cannot be altered by any known treatment.
Fingerprinting with ink and paper, based on fingertip ridge patterns is the standard method for personal identification. Finger prints are constant throughout life, finger prints can be used to distinguish one person from any other. Similarly the DNA of every individual is also unique in its own way. The degree of variation in bands from one person to another is so large that the theoretical probability that the bands seen in one individual are present in another unrelated individual may be in millions. The advantages over finger prints are numerous. DNA can be isolated from any part of the body, skin cells, blood or blood stains or semen.
An additional application of DNA fingerprint technology is the diagnosis of inherited disorders in adults, children, and unborn babies. The technology is so powerful that, for example, even the blood-stained clothing of Abraham Lincoln could be analyzed for evidence of a genetic disorder called Marfan's Syndrome.
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