How do I interpret a forensic DNA report?
There are only three possible reportable conclusions of a forensic DNA test: exclusion, inclusion, or inconclusive. An exclusion means that an individual could not be the contributor of the DNA recovered from an item of evidence. All exclusions are 100% definitive. An inclusion means that an individual could be the contributor of the DNA recovered from an item of evidence. For example, the report could state that DNA test results for the evidence are consistent with the reference sample of the suspect. Therefore, the suspect is not excluded as the DNA donor in ReliaGene Sample #01-0000. Inclusions are accompanied by a statistical frequency. In a case where nuclear STR (Profiler/COfiler) was performed, for example, the report could state: For the 13 markers tested, the genetic profile for the DNA donor of ReliaGene Sample #01-0000 occurs with a frequency of approximately 1 in >10 billion persons in each of the Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic populations. An inconclusive means
The forensics DNA report lists the samples tested and a short description of the procedures performed on the samples. It also lists the laboratory’s findings on whether matches were found among the tested samples. The three possible interpretations for the results of a forensic DNA test are as follows: match, non-match, or inconclusive. A match means that the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample is consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the known reference sample (ie. suspect). A non-match means that an individual’s DNA profile is not consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample. An inconclusive result is arrived at when no data could be obtained from the samples submitted, most likely because there was not enough DNA or the DNA was of poor quality. We use DNAView and eDNA, the two most widely used statistical programs in the industry, to generate the data for the report.
The forensics DNA report lists the samples tested and a short description of the procedures performed on the samples. It also lists the laboratorys findings on whether matches were found among the tested samples. The three possible interpretations for the results of a forensic DNA test are as follows: match, non-match, or inconclusive. A match means that the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample is consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the known reference sample (ie. suspect). A non-match means that an individuals DNA profile is not consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample. An inconclusive result is arrived at when no data could be obtained from the samples submitted, most likely because there was not enough DNA or the DNA was of poor quality. We use DNAView and eDNA, the two most widely used statistical programs in the industry, to generate the data for the report.
The forensics DNA report lists the samples tested and describes and provides the results based on a comparison of known and unknown evidence samples. The four possible interpretations for the results of a forensic DNA test are as follows: match, non-match, no DNA obtained, and inconclusive. A match means that the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample is consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the known reference sample (ie. suspect). A non-match means that an individual’s DNA profile is not consistent with the DNA profile obtained from the evidence sample. No DNA obtained means that we were unable to extract DNA from the evidence sample provided to us. An inconclusive result is obtained when there is insufficient DNA for comparison.
