Vietnam proposes the United States continue full funding for DNA testing of approximately 1,000 remains at Giong Rieng Matyr's Cemetery

Key topics discussed during the meeting included the proposal for continued full funding for DNA testing of remains (approximately 1,000 samples) at Giong Rieng Martyrs’ Cemetery; exchanges and discussions on testing samples using NGS-SNP technology for 1,000 remains and 600 family members with over 1,000 reference samples on the Microarray system; and the assessment of other consumables for equipment operation and sample storage.

Members of the U.S. delegation included Mr. Kevin Bilms and Ms. Kristi Hunt - Department of South Asia and Southeast Asia, Department of Defense; Ms. Marialice Ariens and Mr. Anthony Kolbs - Political Officers, U.S. Embassy, along with other staff from the Office of the Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam. From the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICMP), participants included Ms. Nguyen Hoang Chau - Program Director in Vietnam, and Dr. Thomas Parsons - ICMP Specialist.

Representing VAST were Dr. Nguyen Hoang Duong – Vice Director of Department of International Co-operation; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phi Quyet Tien - Vice Director of Institute of Biology; Dr. Tran Trung Thanh - Director of the DNA Identification Center (CDI); together with other CDI staff members.

Panoramic view of the working session

Speaking at the working session, Vice President of VAST, Prof. Dr. Chu Hoang Ha, stated that the project titled “Enhancing War Remains Identification Capacity through Collaborative Development, Technology Transfer, and Provision of Equipment, Chemicals, and Consumables” is a science and technology cooperation initiative funded by the U.S. government. The project, led by the Institute of Biotechnology (now the Institute of Biology) under Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, aims to strengthen DNA analysis capabilities and identify unidentified war remains, supporting families of martyrs in searching for information and mitigating the consequences of war.

The project includes technology transfer, provision of equipment, chemicals, and professional training, enabling Vietnamese scientists to master advanced technologies and gradually expand the scale of martyrs’ identification. After more than 1.5 years of implementation, the project has achieved notable results, such as establishing a next-generation sequencing (NGS) system along with data analysis software, which has been fully installed and put into operation at the DNA Identification Center (CDI) under Institute of Biology. The project demonstrates the potential of applying new technologies to identification work in Vietnam.

Looking ahead, despite some remaining challenges, Vietnam hopes that the U.S. government will continue to provide funding to complete the next research phase and facilitate the wider application of new DNA identification technologies. Vice President Chu Hoang Ha emphasized that this is an important project contributing to addressing the consequences of war in Vietnam, while also demonstrating a humanitarian commitment, fostering peace, and promoting trustworthy cooperation between Vietnam and the United States.

Vice President Prof. Dr. Chu Hoang Ha delivering remarks at the working session

During the session, Dr. Tran Trung Thanh - Director of CDI - presented a report on technical developments and the implementation of new DNA analysis procedures (NGS-SNP) at CDI. Dr. Thomas Parsons from ICMP also provided an overview of the cooperation among the parties and outlined the next steps in supporting large-scale war remains identification in Vietnam.

Dr. Tran Trung Thanh presenting at the working session

Dr. Thomas Parsons speaking at the working session

Proposal for Full Funding for Sampling and DNA Testing of Approximately 1,000 Remains at Giong Rieng Martyrs’ Cemetery

To implement the project, the Institute of Biology deployed a team to collect biological samples from martyrs’ remains at Tra Linh Martyrs’ Cemetery, Tra Linh Commune, Cao Bang Province, from June 9 to June 10, 2025. A total of 58 high-quality samples were obtained and handed over by the Department of Home Affairs of Cao Bang Province. These samples have been analyzed and compared, with some results already published.

Based on the field survey report and information collected at Giong Rieng Martyrs’ Cemetery, Giong Rieng Commune, An Giang Province, on December 26, 2024, the Institute of Biology will continue to develop a plan and dispatch a team to collect biological samples from martyrs’ remains at this cemetery. Giong Rieng Cemetery consists of two sections: Section A (right side from the entrance) with 10 plots, and Section B (left side from the entrance) with 13 plots, containing a total of 954 unidentified martyrs’ graves. The Department of Home Affairs of An Giang Province has authorized the exhumation and collection of samples from unidentified remains at Giong Rieng Cemetery in accordance with Official Letter 313/LĐTBXH-NCC, dated January 23, 2025.

The plan anticipates collecting samples from approximately 600 family members directly, requiring coordination with the police, military, local military command, and liaison committees to ensure accurate verification and avoid sample mix-ups among family members. Therefore, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology requests that the United States provide full funding for the sampling and DNA testing of approximately 1,000 remains at Giong Rieng Martyrs’ Cemetery.

DNA Identification Using NGS-SNP Technology on 1,000 Remains and 600 Family Members with Over 1,000 Relative Samples via Microarray System

Since early 2024, the DNA Identification Center (CDI) has been working closely with ICMP to continuously develop, optimize, and transfer advanced DNA analysis technology for martyrs’ remains using next-generation sequencing based on NGS-SNP. This approach utilizes SNP markers suitable for Vietnam’s specific conditions, as most of the remains have been severely degraded after decades in the hot and humid tropical environment.

The project has successfully achieved three out of five objectives, including: establishing and optimizing the DNA extraction protocol from Vietnamese remains, implementing an automated SNP sequencing system, and deploying a solution for matching DNA profiles. These results are highly commendable and provide significant prospects for the identification of martyrs’ remains. Specifically, the DNA extraction success rate at the center has increased from 22% to 70%, and the SNP profiles obtained from the samples are of sufficiently high quality to enable matching with reference samples from relatives.

SNP analysis can determine kinship relationships up to 4–5 generations for both paternal and maternal lineages, overcoming the limitations of mitochondrial DNA-based identification, which only traces maternal lineage and requires corroborating evidence to reach conclusions. This achievement has never been realized before, marking the first successful demonstration of the feasibility of applying advanced SNP-NGS technology to DNA identification of Vietnamese martyrs’ remains.

Therefore, to ensure feasibility and high accuracy, DNA identification using NGS technology on 1,000 remains and 600 family members, with over 1,000 relative samples via the microarray system, is considered necessary.

Other Consumables for Equipment Operation and Sample Storage

Within the framework of the project, a substantial workload remains, requiring technological support to optimize procedures and reduce identification costs, aiming to handle large numbers of martyrs’ remains in Vietnam with the assistance of ICMP. Currently, CDI has completed two DNA extraction protocols and conducted additional studies to further enhance the efficiency of the DNA extraction processes transferred from ICMP. These two next-generation sequencing protocols were developed at ICMP and are now applied at CDI. The sequencing results consistently meet the manufacturer’s specifications, with high reliability: Q30 > 80%, %PF > 75%. The Force Qiaseq method achieves effective SNP recovery, with 13 tested samples producing more than 1,000 SNPs. Data matching using the Merlin software has proven highly reliable.

However, consumables and chemicals required for DNA extraction of over 1,000 remains and 600 family members with more than 100 relative samples, as well as for equipment operation and storage of a large volume of samples, are still insufficient. This shortage is particularly critical given the large number of samples expected to be collected at Giong Rieng Cemetery. Therefore, additional supplies are necessary to ensure continuity, efficiency, and timely progress of the project.

Remarks by Dr. Andrew Byers

At the working session, Dr. Andrew Byers, Deputy Assistant Secretary in charge of South and Southeast Asia, Department of Defense, praised the project’s achievements and reaffirmed the U.S. Government’s commitment to continue supporting Vietnam in implementing the project. At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Andrew Byers and the U.S. delegation visited the laboratory and paid tribute at the Memorial Room of the DNA Identification Center to honor the martyrs.

Visit to the DNA Identification Center

Group photo session

Translated by Phuong Ha
Link to Vietnamese version