Leading DNA testing company, easyDNA, has donated a number of DNA testing kits to the Rio Rico Fire district. The kits will be used to help solve cases requiring human identification.
California, USA 12/3/2013- Rio Rico Fire District has received a number of DNA sample kits donated by easyDNA. The kits were used for the Fire Safety day carried out yearly by the District. Along with the finger printing that was done at fire safety day, the DNA kits were of considerable help to the community by providing an alternative avenue for child identification. easyDNA’s Sales and Marketing Director Andrew Alexander has stated “ we are glad to have donated these kits which we know will be of great help in solving cases of unidentified remains or to confirm the identity of the unidentified person, in for example cases of missing children”.
Parents were encouraged by the Rio Rico Fire district to bring their kids on their fire safety day. The Rio Rico Fire district has used the DNA testing kits donated by easyDNA to collect the samples of the children. The samples were then analyzed in a laboratory to extract the DNA profile of the child. Having the profile means helping solve cases of missing or kidnapped children, tracking them down more easily and efficiently.
The Rio Rico Fire district sometimes deals with cases where the victims of a fire might have been charred by the fire beyond any recognition. In many cases, it is not difficult to know who a person is or who a body belongs to. However, in cases of fire, the skin melts away leaving no recoverable finger prints. In this case, samples of DNA might be recoverable from the remains of the person, perhaps from the bones or from the teeth. A laboratory spokesman further elaborates that in cases of burning recovering DNA can be quite challenging, further specifying that “it very much depends on the temperatures that have been reached and for how long the body was exposed to the heat before the fire being extinguished”. The DNA profile extracted from the teeth or bones can be compared to the DNA profile extracted from the oral swabs found in the DNA test kits in order to confirm whether the two samples belong to the same person.
Patrick McCarthy, Public Information Officer for the Rio Rico Fire District has expressed his gratitude towards the donation stating that it has “made a huge impact”.
easyDNA’s kits are simple to use. They contain two colored oral swabs placed inside colored envelopes. Following the simple instructions in the kits, the test participants can collect samples by rubbing the swabs for 1 minute under the tongue and then allowing them to dry. Once dry, they can be analysed in a laboratory and the individual’s DNA profile extracted. For more information on DNA profiles CLICK HERE.
