Laboratory News

New for Consumers: Shrink-Wrap Your DNA!

one are the days of giant storage freezers filed with DNA samples-many of which may not be needed or used for years.  Now comes a new storage solution from DNA Direct, a San Francisco-based company that provides consumer genetic testing for a variety of serious conditions. DNA Direct recently unveiled a product called DNA Archive, which allows consumers to keep preserved DNA "shrink-wrapped" at room temperature.

DNA Direct paired with Biomatrica, a San Diego-based company that develops ways to stabilize biological samples without having to freeze and maintain them in cold-storage facilities. The shrink-wrap technology is cheaper than freezing. It is also more reliable than the DNA storage method using blood spots on filter paper.

In order to receive shrink-wrapped samples of their DNA, consumers send a cheek swab to a laboratory where it is purified, air-dried, and stabilized by the use of a synthetic substance that essentially shrink-wraps the DNA.  Consumers then receive a small, UV-resistant box with three miniature test tubes containing their dried DNA samples.  The material can be reconstituted with a few drops of water.  The method has survived extreme temperatures and artificial aging up to 20 years.  The cost of the service is $175.

Jesse Reynolds, policy analyst with the Center for Genetics and Society  notes that one logical use of this type of DNA storage is for people who have died and whose relatives, for various reasons, would like to preserve a sample of their loved one's DNA.  Naturally, a situation like that raises consent issues and other ethical concerns. Posthumous paternity testing using DNA is one example that has already raised legal issues.

Possible uses of the shrink-wrapped DNA, according to Trish Brown, vice president of clinical affairs for DNA Direct, include people storing their DNA for future genetic testing and keeping samples of their children's DNA in case of death or kidnapping.

This new DNA storage technology represents just one more way that lab-work is moving away from the essential and mundane and into the elective and exotic.  Entrepreneurial laboratories creating direct-to-consumer services may wish to contact DNA Direct to learn more about how to participate in helping consumers use shrink-wrapped DNA samples for a variety of purposes!

Trish Brown will be speaking at the upcoming Executive War College in Miami, Florida, on May 13-14.  She will be discussing why consumers are turning to Internet sources for genetic testing and how a growing number of non-healthcare companies are emerging to serve this consumer demand. You can view the full agenda for the Executive War College  at http://www.executivewarcollege.com/agenda.htm.

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Shrink-wrapped genes: DNA Direct of S.F. offers consumer service

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