FAQ

WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is passionate about making sure everybody will have equitable access to future biotechnologies and therapeutics. As a non-profit organization we are not beholden to the same incentives for-profit genetic companies are beholden to. While growth and profits do not have to be at odds with our mission, many for-profit genetic companies have sold their users’ data to improve growth and profit.

HOW ARE YOU FUNDED?

To date, our funding has come from individual donors and grant making 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Longer term, we hope to be self-sustaining through mission aligned revenue generation. If you would like to financially support our mission, please visit our DONATE page.

HOW DO I ORDER A TEST KIT AND IS IT FREE?

You can order a test kit by creating an account on our website and following the ordering instructions. We require a 50c payment during registration for verification purposes. The 50c payment is refunded later, making the test kit FREE. Also remember that it's impossible to order a kit without having an account. So, if you ordered a kit, you have an account and your email address is your username.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR ME TO RECEIVE MY KIT AFTER ORDERING?

It usually takes 7-10 days for you to receive your test kit after ordering. If the mail system is saturated, it may take up to 2 weeks to receive the kit.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR ME TO RECEIVE MY RESULTS AFTER SENDING IN MY SALIVA SAMPLE?

It generally takes 4-8 weeks for results to get back to you after the lab receives the kit. However, it could take longer if the lab is backed up. Being a non-profit, our bandwidth is not quite at the scale of Ancestry or 23andMe but we are working hard to make sure we are returning results in a timely manner.

WHAT KIND OF RESULTS WILL I RECEIVE?

We do not provide a genetic health risk report like 23andMe, just genetic ancestry percentages and raw genetic data. We also do not perform any matching analyses so you will not be receiving any results about relatives.

HOW WILL I RECEIVE MY RESULTS?

Your results are sent to your website account, NOT to your email address. Your email address is only used as a username for logins and also for status updates (when configured). Please log into your account to check for results.

CAN I DOWNLOAD MY DATA?

Yes, you have every right to download your data, it’s yours after all! See the SCIENCE page to learn more about the genetic data that you can download.

HOW DO YOU ESTIMATE MY ANCESTRY?

We use computational and statistical methods to compare your DNA to a collection of individuals that are known to have their families live in a specific region of the world for many generations. See the SCIENCE page for more information about ancestry estimation.

WHY DID MY SAMPLE FAIL?

If your sample failed quality control (QC), it is because it was contaminated (it had more than the required amount of non-human genetic material potentially from food, etc.).

ARE YOU HIPAA COMPLIANT AND HOW IS MY DNA STORED?

Yes, we are HIPAA compliant as our systems have been developed with security and privacy in mind. The digital sequence of your DNA is stored on a secure server. Your physical DNA sample is stored in a secure biobanking facility

WILL YOU SHARE MY DNA WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OR THE GOVERNMENT?

No. We do not share your information or DNA with any Federal, State or Local law enforcement or any other government entities. Our Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides legal protections that you can read about here: https://grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects/coc/information-protected-coc.htm .

WHO HAS ACCESS TO MY DNA AFTER I DONATE IT?

Only authorized employees of the secure biobanking facility may access your biosample. Also, only authorized and trained Spectrum personnel may have access to your data for internal research purposes. Additional access to your DNA will only be performed with your consent.

WILL YOU CURE X DISEASE?

No, but the research that comes from this data may one day provide insight that leads to a cure of a disease.

HOW WILL I BENEFIT FROM DONATING MY DNA?

Your data, if you so choose, will be shared with researchers that will use the data to come up with insights that will form the knowledge base used to develop new therapeutics and biotechnologies. Your data will ensure that these discoveries will be applicable to yourself and the general public instead of being limited to a certain group of people.

WILL YOU DELETE MY DNA DATA IF I ASK YOU TO DO THAT?

Yes we will delete your DNA data and destroy your physical sample within 30 days. Just send us an email at support@spectrumbiobank.org