Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, September 17, 2001
Release #315-01c


MAYOR GIULIANI, POLICE COMMISSIONER KERIK, AND CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER HIRSCH ANNOUNCE THE COLLECTION OF DNA SAMPLES FROM RELATIVES OF THOSE MISSING DUE TO WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACKS

DNA Samples Can Be Taken at Any LabCorp Center Nationwide

To help the families of those missing due to the World Trade Center attacks locate their loved ones, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch announced an effort to collect comparison DNA samples from relatives of those missing.

"DNA evidence offers us the best opportunity to help families find their loved ones," said Mayor Giuliani. "I strongly urge everyone who is missing a relative to participate in this process."

Police Department personnel began collecting DNA at 8:00 am Saturday morning, at the Family Services Center at Pier 94 (at 54th Street and 12th Avenue) in Manhattan. Family members who do not live Manhattan can have a sample taken at any one of 900 LabCorp patient service centers nationwide.

To arrange for an appointment at the nearest LabCorp facility, relatives should call LabCorp's 24-hour hotline at (888) 520-6952. LabCorp will begin scheduling appointments on Monday, September 17, 2001. Information can also be obtained at LabCorp's Web site, http://www.labcorp.com.

Family members are asked to bring personal items of missing persons to the Family Services Center at Pier 94 (at 54th Street and 12th Avenue) or LabCorp patient service center. This physical evidence is the best means of obtaining an accurate DNA sample. In order to yield the most accurate result, the items brought should be as personal as possible.

The following are examples of items that could prove helpful in identifying missing persons:

· Toothbrushes, hairbrushes, or electric razors.
· Worn and unwashed undergarments
· Used cups, drinking glasses, or eating utensils
· Used Kleenex, cigarette butts, or chewing gum

In addition, family members will be asked to contribute a sample of their own DNA. Because direct relatives share specific genetic characteristics, such a sample could serve as an important means of establishing the identity of the deceased.

The DNA sample is taken by rubbing a cotton swab along the interior lining of the donor's cheek. The DNA taken from the cotton swab is then compared to that of the deceased person.

To help ensure an accurate DNA identification, the sample donor should be a blood relative of the missing person. The order of preference for DNA sample donors is as follows:

· Both of the missing person's parents
· One parent of the missing person
· Children of the missing person (the more children that are tested, the more accurate the DNA identification will be; a DNA sample of the missing person's spouse is only helpful if the missing person's children are also tested)

If parents or children are not available, any combination of the following relatives may offer useful DNA samples, in order of preference:

· Grandparents
· Grandchildren
· Full siblings

If none of the above relatives is available, DNA samples may be taken from any combination of the following relatives, in order of preference:

· Half-siblings
· Aunts and Uncles
· Nieces and Nephews

If family members have already provided personal items to police officers they do not need to do so again. However, those who have not been asked to provide a cotton-swab DNA sample should do so whenever convenient.

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