For any court ready DNA case, the Chain of Custody of the sample is of utmost importance. If the Chain of Custody is disrupted or questionable at any stage of the process, this may jeopardize the acceptance of the results in a legal matter. Therefore Orchid Cellmark has developed strict procedures and systems to ensure that the procedures have been followed.

Chain of Custody involves procedures that apply to the following steps of a DNA test:

• Identification of the tested party
• Obtaining Consent
• Collection of specimens from the tested party
• Packaging of the specimens
• Shipment of the specimens
• Receipt of the specimens by the DNA laboratory
• Transfer of specimens within the DNA laboratory
• Storage of the specimens

Using the menu to the left, please click on any of the Chain of Custody steps for more information on our procedures.