Newborns' Blood Used To Build Secret DNA Database 263
Kanel notes a summary up at New Scientist of an investigation by a Texas newspaper revealing that Texas health officials had secretly transferred hundreds of newborn babies' blood samples to the federal government to build a DNA database. Here's the (long and detailed) article in the Texas Tribune. From New Scientist: "The Texas Department of State Health Services routinely collected blood samples from newborns to screen for a variety of health conditions, before throwing the samples out. But beginning in 2002, the DSHS contracted Texas A&M University to store blood samples for potential use in medical research. These accumulated at rate of 800,000 per year. The DSHS did not obtain permission from parents, who sued the DSHS, which settled in November 2009. Now the Tribune reveals that wasn't the end of the matter. As it turns out, between 2003 and 2007, the DSHS also gave 800 anonymized blood samples to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory to help create a national mitochondrial DNA database. This came to light after repeated open records requests filed by the Tribune turned up documents detailing the mtDNA program. Apparently, these samples were part of a larger program to build a national, perhaps international, DNA database that could be used to track down missing persons and solve cold cases."
Need new tag (Score:4, Funny)
Re:IMHO a few people need to go to prison. (Score:3, Funny)
Some thing far more terminal, painful, and with extreme prejudice, and being Texas I think the residents are probably well equipped to handle it.
... forced attendance at a chili cook-off and have to eat it all?
Re:What's the purpose of the secret DNA database? (Score:5, Funny)
BIG BROTHER knows no bound, does it?
Hence the need for DNA for testing! Without DNA testing, you can never be sure whether it's your big brother, or just some unrelated weirdo spying on you. Makes a big difference.
Re:not unusual, no privacy or property issue (Score:5, Funny)
I have researched the topic and drawn up a Venn Diagram of "people clever enough to copyright their DNA" and "people with the opportunity to knock up some chicks":
O O
Re:Someone enlighten me (Score:3, Funny)
>>So, how "should" we feel about this?
Well, I for one trust that the government will only use their secret DNA database in an ethical and prudent fashion.