Applications of forensic identity testing in the clinical laboratory

DNA analysis is becoming routine in the clinical laboratory for the diagnos is of human diseases using various tissue sources. Most clinical specimens are followed by tracking forms that include patient demographic data, acces sion number, and date and time of collection. As part of a thorough quality assurance program, proper documentation of test requisitions and tracking forms is mandatory. Despite these efforts, specimen mislabeling or other mi x-ups can, and do, occur. We demonstrate the utility of the PM+DQA1 typing kit and STR analysis using the Visible Genetics automated DNA sequencing sy stem in the proper identification of such clinical specimens as urine, bloo d, and paraffin-embedded tissues. In each case, sufficient DNA was extracte d from these specimen types using a nonorganic extraction protocol for typi ng purposes. We conclude that DNA typing methods are feasible for distingui shing clinical laboratory specimens of questionable identity and compliment existing quality assurance techniques.