Collecting DNA in Different Countries Posted on November 30, 2007 Following local rules can be a hurdle, states Vishwajit Nimgaonkar (bio).

Because we do genetic epidemiology, we collect clinical information and demographic information as well as blood samples. So we need DNA that we can analyze. And you can obtain DNA from different tissues. So we have done studies where we have taken mouth swabs. But we prefer to get blood samples because you get plentiful DNA from blood and you can also use the cells in the blood for other kinds of experiments.

And this, as you might gather, the culture affects how often people are willing to let samples be collected. The Indian government is very particular. They want to promote research within the country and build research within the country, so they have made a rule that tissues that are collected from Indian participants cannot be taken abroad.

So this has been a big hurdle for us, because it has meant that we have had to do research within India. And it has meant that we have had to train people for lab research. And that certainly has slowed down our research. There’s no question that we could have moved much faster.

But again one cannot break rules. One has to follow the local rules and work with them. It’s been again satisfying, because we’ve been able to train people up and it’s very nice to see people that are being written by collaborators now on their own and that’s very fulfilling.

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