DNA of deceased service

A funeral home in Springfield, Oregon has begun offering a service to provide relatives with a DNA sample from their deceased loved ones.

Andreason’s Cremation and Burial Service is collaborating with DNA Memorial to provide this service, which costs $263 (£202.44).

DNA samples are collected by staff at Andreason’s then sent to the DNA laboratory in Canada, which has developed a process that allows DNA to be stored indefinitely at room temperature.

Neal Esau, DNA Memorial’s co-founder, said: “With our approach, you don’t need to deep-freeze the DNA.

“The process allows the DNA to be stored at room temperature indefinitely at home in a drawer or safe place where any other family document would be stored.”

Potential uses for deceased people’s DNA could range from confirming family relationships in estate claim cases to investigating ancestral history.

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