Project to Send DNA Samples of War Victims Abroad Still Under Discussion: Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health of Armenia has responded to an article by News.am titled "Have Profits Been Made from the Purchase of DNA Identification Machines for War Victims? New Evidence on a Suspicious Deal." The ministry officially states that the information contained in the article is distorted.

"We find it necessary to note that the set of analytical devices and supplies designated for DNA identification examinations were acquired by the Armenian Ministry of Health's State Medical Forensic Center based on the Armenian government's decision No. 2102-A dated December 18, 2020, Article 23, Part 1 of the Law on Procurement, as well as the requirements set by the government decree No. 526-N dated May 4, 2017, which annulled the previous decision No. 168-N of February 10, 2011. The procurement was conducted through a price inquiry method. The center sent inquiries to 'Medisar' LLC and 'Prom-Test' LLC.

'Medisar' LLC is the official representative of 'Thermo Fisher Scientific' in Armenia, while 'Prom-Test' LLC was selected as a supplier based on the results of a competition held in 2018 to acquire the 'Applied Biosystems 3500' model analyzer produced by 'Thermo Fisher Scientific'. Given the urgency of the procurement, the price inquiry also required that price offers be evaluated based on the ratio of price offer to delivery time.

The cost of the set of analytical devices and supplies for DNA identification examinations amounted to 295,867,260.69 AMD. To expedite the process of genetic identification of the deceased soldiers, a second workflow has been acquired, which includes the AutoMate Exspress DNA Extraction System (1 unit), Proflex amplifier (1 unit), and the ABI Prism 3500 analyzer (1 unit), enabling simultaneous uploading of samples for analysis and analyzing previous samples. The previous sequencer lacked these capabilities.

Before the acquisition of the second workflow, approximately 12 DNA analyses from bone tissues were conducted at the State Medical Forensic Center, examining up to 30-35 samples. After obtaining the second workflow, the number of identifications has increased to up to 30, with at least 60 to 70 samples analyzed for each identification. It should also be noted that during this time, forensic genetic examinations and identifications of blood samples taken from soldiers' relatives have been carried out using this device.

The productivity of the ABI Prism 3500 analyzer at the State Medical Forensic Center is 2.2 cycles per day under 24-hour working conditions, with the capability to upload 90 samples simultaneously. However, the nature of work requires that two uploads are conducted for each sample to obtain precise DNA, in addition to the appropriate reagents necessary for the sequencing process, as well as controls for verifying the accuracy of results.

The information presented in the article regarding the equipment—including claims about three units of the AutoMate Express Forensic DNA Extraction System, two units of the GeneMapperTM ID-X Software, and magnetic stands for test tubes—does not correspond with the list of devices acquired by us. Complete information is available to the public on the Ministry of Finance's website www.gnumner.am.

As for sending samples abroad, this project is still under discussion, referring to those samples for which, after multiple attempts, a suitable genetic profile for identification has not been obtained due to the origin and quality of the bone tissue. It is important to note that only 50-60 samples out of 3,023 examined cases are involved.

We inform that the price offers provided by 'Thermo Fisher Scientific', 'Medisar' LLC, and 'Prom-Test' LLC do not match the figures cited in the article. The Ministry of Health remains committed to its transparent information policy and urges the media to verify the accuracy of the information obtained, to avoid publishing and disseminating misleading information that can lead to defamation of character,” the Ministry reported.