| Metric |
Description |
| Number of victim samples received |
The number of human remains samples collected at the incident site and submitted to the DNA laboratory in a specified timeframe (e.g., twice daily, daily, weekly). |
| Number of samples analyzed from victims |
The number of human remains samples that have been analyzed. Combined with the number of samples received, this metric provides transparency into the laboratory’s backlog and shows how well the laboratory is keeping pace with the recovery effort. The public should be aware that there are several analytical steps involved in the identification of a victim. This metric could be divided into several steps—extraction, quantitation (if used), etc.—to highlight the laboratory’s workloads. |
| Number of samples analyzed from reference samples |
This metric shows that, in addition to often-damaged samples from the disaster site, the laboratory has many other samples to analyze before a reliable identification can be made. |
| Number of victims identified |
The number of victims that have been identified by any modality. |
| Number of victims identified by DNA only |
The number of victims that have been identified exclusively by DNA. |
| Number of remains reassociated with victims |
Eventually, the number of fragmented human remains associated with specific victims may become an important metric. Such a metric can be used to estimate the longitudinal efficacy of the effort and help determine when the DNA identification effort ends. |
DNA Identification in Mass Fatality Incidents
