China establishes first DNA database for martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army carry coffins containing remains of soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) dead in the 1950-53 Korean War, during a handover ceremony at the Incheon International Airport of South Korea, March 28, 2014.(Photo/Xinhua)

On the eve of this year's Martyrs' Day which fell on Sept. 30, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs held a ceremony to bring martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army home in Shenyang, Science and Technology Daily Reported on Oct. 14, 2019. This is the first time for China to identify the unknown soldiers through DNA technology.

Wang Shengqi, researcher of the Military Medical Research Institute of the Academy of Military Sciences, and his team broke through various international difficulties such as the identification of complex kinship relationships and established a DNA database for martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army as well as their relatives with three types of genetic markers, which provided reliable technical and data support for kinship comparison.

According to Wang, the conventional extraction technology took a long time and had a low success rate, which could not meet the requirements of subsequent DNA analysis and identification. However, his team developed a new method for extracting DNA quickly and efficiently. By applying this method, the success rate of DNA detection has been greatly improved.

The military medical research institute was founded in 1951 with the main task of solving the problem of medical support to assist in the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. So far, Wang Shengqi's team has completed a DNA analysis of 494 martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army.