DNA in the Bank

Several months ago I mentioned we were looking to bank Grace's remaining DNA. We were a little skeptical of what we'd be able to bank since most of the tests had used everything available...or so we thought.

I wanted to wait until we were moved into our new house before starting the process. With the help of Grace's geneticist we were able to locate every sample that Kaiser had sent out. Once I had the list of labs it was a matter of calling them to find how much was remaining. It took me about two weeks to call them all and have them report back to what they had. Most of the labs had no more then a few micrograms of DNA or the residue in the test tube. But two labs had a significant quantity, 75 microliters and 300 microliters. I'm unable to give a comparison of what a microliter is other then to say it was definitely enough to bank.

So last week both samples were sent to Oregon Health and Sciences University for long term DNA storage. The remaining samples will stay at their respective labs for the foreseeable future. What I've learned throughout this process is most labs will save the DNA for an "unspecified" amount of time. Whereas a DNA bank guarantees safe storage for decades.

The reason we wanted to store Grace's DNA is for any future tests or research studies in which her samples could be of use. Maybe one day it could offer answers to us and others through additional testing and/or research. For Holly and I, the piece of mind knowing everything is safely stored is well worth it.