No, I’m really not kidding. In their own version of “No DNA Left Behind”, the New York State Department of Health is requiring that samples collected within the state must be destroyed because it does not have a license to operate as a laboratory and “labs can only order tests at the request of a state-licensed physician”, says GenomeWeb.

But this is not just about 23andMe. New York is now treating the more than 23 DTC genetic testing companies as laboratories, requiring them all to have permits–or if they do not to destroy all samples.

Will the companies do it? 23andMe says they already have destroyed the samples they have collected from their famous “spit party”, but does this apply to all samples collected from people from NY. New York State says yes, of course, but will all DTC genetics companies agree and abide by the rule? Only time will tell.

Summer Johnson, PhD