Direct Reference Match
Definition
A DVI DNA comparison between a post-mortem profile and a reference profile derived from a personal effect (toothbrush, razor, stored sample) known to carry the victim's own DNA.
- Compares
- Post-mortem DNA profile to a personal-effect reference
- Example sources
- Toothbrush, razor, stored sample
- Distinguishes from
- Kinship (family-reference) DNA matching
- Field
- Disaster victim identification
Common questions
Why is a direct reference match preferred over a kinship match when both are available?+
A direct reference sample is the victim's own DNA, so a match gives a statistically stronger identification than a kinship comparison, which only establishes a biological relationship and needs additional reasoning to conclude that the specific relative is the deceased.
What can undermine a direct reference match in mass-casualty work?+
If the personal effect was shared or handled by another household member, or if its chain of custody back to the named victim cannot be established, the reference sample itself becomes unreliable and the match loses its evidentiary strength.
Related terms
- Bonaparte
- NFI kinship-matching software used in the MH17 DVI operation and subsequent Dutch-led mass-casualty responses; handles pedigrees across multiple national reference-sample databases.
- DVI (Disaster Victim Identification)
- The systematic multi-agency process for identifying victims of mass-casualty events, governed by the INTERPOL DVI Guide 2018 revision. Organises work into five...
- Kinship Match
- A DVI DNA comparison between a post-mortem profile and reference profiles from one or more biological relatives, using a pedigree-based likelihood ratio...
- M-FIsys
- Kinship-matching software developed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute and first deployed at scale in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Thailand DVI operation.
- NYC OCME
- New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner; led the 9/11 WTC DNA identification operation and developed the mini-STR and high-throughput mtDNA...
- Pink Form
- The INTERPOL DVI post-mortem recording form, used to document all biometric data collected from human remains (fingerprints, dental charts, DNA, physical descriptors,...
- Yellow Form
- The INTERPOL DVI ante-mortem recording form, completed by family liaison officers using information and reference samples provided by relatives of the missing.