DNA Identification in Mass Fatality Incidents
Chapter 8: Family Coordination and Liaison
Working with the families of victims of a mass fatality incident is likely to be foreign to most DNA laboratories. This chapter discusses the formation of a family assistance center and a family hotline and discusses a number of helpful forms, including the most recent version (in English and in Spanish) of Identifying Victims Using DNA: A Guide for Families, the brochure on the DNA identification process that was distributed to victims' families shortly after the 9/11 attacks.
A laboratory’s response to a mass fatality incident is a departure from normal criminal casework in which DNA testing generally is conducted on behalf of the State (or the defense)—with a law enforcement agency acting as the buffer between the laboratory and the victim or the victim’s family. In a mass disaster DNA identification effort, however, the laboratory becomes a gateway, rather than a buffer—with the laboratory working directly with families to collect information about victims and reference samples.
Consequently, the laboratory and victims’ families often share a close, albeit short-term, relationship. Families become temporary stakeholders in the laboratory’s performance because many decisions made during a mass fatality incident response affect them profoundly. For example, the minimum fragment size and “when are we finished” decisions (see chapter 4, Major Decisions) determine how much of, and in what condition, a loved one’s remains will be received by the family.
Depending on the extent to which the victims’ families are organized, they may have a strong voice in shaping nonscientific decisions. The laboratory also may receive, via elected officials, complaints from victims’ families. The best advice in these situations is that common sense should prevail. The needs of the families of victims of a mass fatality incident are, first and foremost, to have their loved ones identified and buried. Each family needs an official death certificate to settle their loved one’s estate and collect any life insurance benefits.
Finally, families want information. Most laypeople do not understand forensic identification modalities, and DNA can seem especially mysterious. Often, families do not know why they are being asked to provide their loved one’s personal items or why the laboratory is requesting DNA samples from relatives. They may not understand the difference between a biological relative and someone who is called “aunt,” for example, but is not actually related. Laboratory directors would be well advised to develop a policy for dealing with a nonrelative who wants to provide a kinship sample. Being able to “do something” is a natural part of the grieving process, and the laboratory can always discard the sample. However, since this may raise false hopes, it may be best to consult with a bioethicist before developing a policy.
Some families may be concerned at what they perceive as the government asking questions about their DNA or their relationship to a mass fatality incident victim. Also, once DNA samples are provided, families may not hear anything for days, weeks, or even months, which can cause additional anxiety about the government’s use of their DNA. The entire process can be bewildering and frustrating to the families of victims, which is even more reason for a laboratory’s policies regarding sample disposition, privacy, and other personal information concerns to be communicated clearly and respectfully.
