QA of DNA Labs

When dealing with DNA, the Quality Assurance (QA) of a DNA lab is a serious matter. A DNA lab may exist within a research facility, hospital lab or specialist institute. How much attention is paid to maintaining a high quality standard and how can we be sure that such an important establishment is doing its best to maintain such standards and not slack? Are there instances where the DNA lab slacks in its QA program? How do we know? How do we audit DNA labs?

What are the likely things that can go wrong in the DNA lab?

DNA is a heat-labile material. Once isolated, DNA must be kept cool or stored frozen. What can go wrong at this stage? Electricity or power outage whereby the temperature increases beyond storage temperature, hotter than -70C, -80C or -86C. Most DNA deep freezers have alarm systems which go off if the temperature falls even a few degrees, to alert lab technicians to the potential hazard.

Contamination of DNA samples. How sure are DNA researchers that the DNA under study is not contaminated with blood, fecal matter or other?  How can we be very certain that the DNA being handled is not contaminated?

DNA sample confusion. It is possible that DNA samples can be switched or mixed up. How can this happen? Carelessness, lack or good work ethics or inability to grasp the strict requirement of QA for a DNA lab. How can this be detected? An audit of DNA samples received, processed and output. Entering details of the DNA samples into a DNA database makes sense. It is easier to detect if something happened to a DNA sample which can be automatically flagged and to act on problems fast enough before a DNA sample is processed for various tests.

Now that we have covered just a bit about QA of DNA handling in the DNA lab, how then can something go wrong in a first class DNA lab? How are DNA labs rated? Are crime labs rated the same as a DNA research lab?

Ancient DNA
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2003/Features/WTD004639.htm

Endangered species DNA
endangered-critter-dna

From NY Times
dna-problems-found-in-new-york-city-crime-lab

CLC Main Workbench
http://www.clcbio.com/products/clc-main-workbench/

DNA Tests
https://www.geni.com/dna-tests/all/male
https://www.geni.com/dna-tests/all/female