The recent opening of the Center for DNA Identification under the Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, has marked a major step in the application of DNA technology to identify the remains of war martyrs.
The Center for DNA Identification, which opened in Hanoi in July, can provide DNA profiling of some 4,000 remains yearly. It has start-of-the-art facilities and equipment that meet international standards. The center includes ten rooms for processing and analyzing DNA samples of the remains of martyrs and their family members. It also has research and development labs and areas for sample storage and examination, and a server system.
“The center’s technicians have been trained in a two-year program taught by genetics specialists from the US. Six experts from the center have also been sent to training at the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Germany,” said Hoang Ha, deputy director of the center.