IN JAPAN, a culture where cremation is mandatory, a funeral company is about
to offer much more than the customary charred bones: it is also offering
grieving relatives a way of storing the deceased鈥檚 DNA in their memorial
tablet.
鈥淲ith the spread of genetic record cards for medical treatments, our samples
will help people complete their family鈥檚 DNA history,鈥� says Hideo Wakayama, a
spokesman for funeral firm Sekise of Nagoya. The DNA could also be useful in
disputes over parentage and claims to blood ties with the deceased, he adds. But
one day the sample could, in theory at least, be used to clone the
dead鈥攁lthough Japan is in the process of outlawing the cloning of
people.
From July, for a charge of 拢120, Sekise will add a sealed capsule
containing a DNA sample to the ihai鈥攖he lacquered wood Buddhist
memorial tablet. 鈥淭he ihai is a sacred object,鈥� explained Wakayama. 鈥淪o
it is very suitable for keeping DNA samples over the generations.鈥� Sekise鈥檚 DNA
preservation technology comes from Texas-based Identigene, which has developed
technology for making low-cost permanent DNA samples.
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