Armed Forces Repository of Specimen Samples
Probablythe largest repository of biological samples for identi- fi cation purposes is the Armed Forces Repository of Specimen Samples for the Identifi cation of Remains (AFRSSIR), which is located just outside of Washington, DC, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. military has maintained a databank of bloodstain cards from all service members in order to help identify any military casualties so that there will be no more unknown soldiers. These bloodstains are typically obtained from fi ngerpricks during the service member’s entry medical exam. Thousands of samples are shipped each month to the repository from multiple collection sites. As of 2008, AFRSSIR contained over 5 million bloodstain cards of which only a few thousand samples have been processed for DNA typing purposes in order to identify remains recovered from military casualties. DNA specimens are also collected from civilian government employees and civilian contractors who support military missions and may be in hostile foreign environments. Samples are kept for 50 years unless the donor requests destruction of the specimen following completion of his or her military service. For many years the bloodstain cards have been maintained in large freezers at – 20 o C inside of vacuum-sealed foil pouches containing a desiccant to help keep the samples dry. Since it is expensive to maintain large freezers, which also have a limited storage space, studies have been performed to evaluate the impact of room-temperature storage on DNA preservation. It has been shown that dry samples can be successfully stored and yield full DNA profi les even after 20 years or more without the advantages of a freezer environment. This should not be surprising since DNA results have been successfully obtained from properly preserved biological samples that may even be thousands of years old (e.g., Egyptian mummies and Neanderthal skeletons).
Sources:
Armed Forces Repository of Specimen Samples for the Identifi cation of Remains (AFRSSIR). http://www.afi p.org/consultation/AFMES/ AFDIL/AFRSSIR/index.html Coble , M. D. , et al. ( 2008 ) . A ten year study of DNA blood references collected on untreated fi lter paper and stored at room temperature . In: Proceedings of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences , 14 , 90 – 91 . Kline , M. C. , et al. ( 2002 ) . Polymerase chain reaction amplifi cation of DNA from aged blood stains: Quantitative evaluation of the ‘ suitability for purpose ’ of four fi lter papers as archival media . Analytical Chemistry , 74 , 1863 – 1869 .