NEWS
Impact of erroneous DNA tests in HSA lab minimal: Gan
The impact of the Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) blunder in DNA tests related to local criminal cases is minimal.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong made this clear in a written reply to Dr Lam Pin Min, MP for Seng Kang West.
In August last year, HSA's DNA Profiling Laboratory (DNAPL) discovered that a reagent of higher than usual concentration had been used as part of the DNA testing process from October 2010 to August 2011.
As a result, there was a marginal reduction in the sensitivity of the DNA tests when low levels of DNA were being analysed.
In light of the erroneous DNA test, Dr Lam asked Mr Gan what measures will be put in place to ensure similar incidents do not happen again and whether the ministry will conduct a thorough review of HSA's laboratory work processes to ensure compliance with International standards and practices.
In reply, Minister Gan said that the "scientific impact of the incident has been established to be minimal".
He added, "Foreign experts have confirmed that there would have been no false positive results leading to wrongful identification of a person, and no one wrongly identified as a result of the incident."
Following the discovery of the errors, an inter-government agency group comprising the AGC, the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and HSA was established to assess the impact of the reagent on the DNA tests affected.
The group studied each and every case which may have been affected by the incident and identified cases for re-testing as a precautionary measure.
Re-testing of DNA samples was initiated as a precautionary measure and the results are expected to be completed in March 2012.
Minister Gan said that the laboratory now uses a commercially-prepared reagent, which only became available after the incident, instead of preparing it in house.
The same approach is also adopted for other steps in the Laboratory's testing processes where such commercially-prepared reagents are available.
HSA's Chemical Metrology Laboratory will also analyse the reagents to verify their contents and concentration prior to use.
With this, the checks in place now go beyond the existing internationally benchmarked quality assurance system and quality control checks, said Mr Gan.
Noting HSA's prompt action after discovering the errors, he said HSA was open and transparent and dealt with the incident in a professional, objective, and timely manner.
"It took prompt action in August 2011 to tighten reagent preparation by using the prior established method of weighing powdered chemicals and dissolving in water," he said.
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