Identification of missing persons: The Spanish "Phoenix" Program

In 1 999, Spain was the first country to official ly start a National Progr am to try to identify cadavers and human remains wh ich could not be identi fied by the use of traditional forensic approaches. This attempt is called "Phoenix Program" Two independent mitochondria[ DNA (mtDNA) databases were generated, which can automatically compare and match identical or similar s equences. One is the Reference Database, with mtDNA sequences from maternal relatives of missing persons, who provide the samples (buccal swabs) volun tarily; the other is the Questioned Database, comprised of mtDNA data of un known remains and cadavers. Although the first phase of the program (typing of all un identified human remains)will probably not be completed until De cember 2003, positive identifications are being made in the interim. To dat e, more than 1,200 families have contacted Phoenix, and at least 280 refere nce samples and 48 questioned evidences have been analyzed. When mtDNA matc hes are found, another independent analysis is performed as a part of the q uality control mechanism. Once a match is confirmed (so fat in 6 cases), an attempt is made to analyze short tandem repeat(STR) loci. We call for inte rnational collaboration to make this effort valuable worldwide.