Mass DNA Testing to Identify Victims of Terrorist Attack

The forensic laboratory is preparing to perform tests on as many as 20,000 tissue samples. All unidentified recovered bodies will also be tested.

Many bodies may be burned beyond recognition or torn apart into pieces. Bodies and body parts are being placed in bags at various staging areas around the area before being taken to the office of the medical examiner. Officials warn that the DNA testing may not be able to identify some victims cremated in the intense fire at the World Trade Center.

First used to identify victims of airline crashes, DNA testing has now become standard practice for identifying victims of such disasters. The medical teams obtain fingerprints of victims whenever possible and collect blood samples for DNA and toxicology testing, when available. If unavailable, a small piece of muscle is removed for DNA testing. Special computer software is being used to correlate the DNA from a victim with that of a relative.

Following the DNA tests, other tests are being used to identify the gender of the victim and to help medical examiners match a patch of tissue or a limb to a larger body part. The medical examiner's office has been asking friends and relatives seeking victims to provide information on dental records, broken bones, scars, and other helpful items, such as photos, that might be helpful in visual identification of the victim. Toothbrushes and hairbrushes of victims or a swab from the cheek of a close relative offer samples that can be used for DNA testing.

The personal items of victims and cheek swabs of relatives will be analyzed by The Laboratory Corporation of America. The DNA samples from recovered bodies are being analyzed by Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) and Celera Genomics (Rockville, MD, USA). All of the analyses will be double-checked by New York State Police laboratories.




Related Links:
Myriad Genetics
Celera