Genographic Project Put on Hold in North America

IPCB Update - December 2006

The Univerity of Pennsylvia Social and Behavioral Sciences IRB has temporary suspended the Genographic Project in response to a formal complaint filed by the Alaska Native Medical Center IRB. The Alaska Native Medical Center IRB said the Genographic Project failed to get the proper permissions before taking blood samples from Alaska Native peoples and have demanded all the samples be returned to Alaska immediately. They further charged the Informed Consent Form was inadequate and failed to inform potential participants of all the risks associated with the project. This is discussed in a recent New York Times article DNA Gathers Hit Snag; Tribes Don't Trust Them by Amy Harmon.

You can review the University of Pennsylvania - Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board's approval of the Genographic Project's Research Protocol and Informed Consent Form (download PDF here)