On September 14, in Hanoi, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra - Head of the National Steering Committee for searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains, inspected the implementation of the "Operation 500 Days and Nights" at the DNA Examination Center under the Institute of Biology (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) and the Military Forensic Institute (Military Medical Department, Ministry of National Defense).
To date, the DNA Examination Center has received 37,610 samples of martyrs' remains from 8 provinces and cities. In recent batches alone, the Center has received more than 7,100 samples from Ho Chi Minh City, more than 4,600 samples from Dong Nai and more than 5,200 samples handed over by Tay Ninh.
Inspecting the reality, the Deputy Prime Minister said that human resources are an issue that needs high concentration; requested the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology to comprehensively review human resources, not only at the Institute of Biology but also at relevant functional units; urgently recruit cadres with capacity and access to work to train and prepare to operate new technology lines.
The Deputy Prime Minister also requested to continue to assess the actual effectiveness of new technology, clarify the advantages, difficulties, and limitations through experiments to combine technology with practical experience, improve the speed, quality, and efficiency of identity determination.
Data also needs to be given special attention. Data on martyrs must be updated and synchronized with national data on population and data samples of martyr's relatives' biological products. Collected remains samples also need to be put into the system to facilitate matching and comparison.
The Institute of Biology is urgently preparing facilities to receive the entire production line supported by Vingroup Corporation.
In the period 2013-2025, the Military Forensic Institute received nearly 5,000 samples of martyrs' remains, examined nearly 2,000 samples and more than 1,800 samples of relatives; thereby identifying the identities of 558 martyrs.
The Institute increases the capacity of the DNA testing line to 800 samples/year. In the 500-day and night campaign, from March 15, 2026 to now, the Institute has extracted 243 martyr remains samples, collected 48 mitochondrial DNA sequences and performed identification comparisons.
Inspecting the reality, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Military Medical Department to review forces with expertise equivalent to or close to DNA testing expertise to strengthen the Military Forensic Institute; and at the same time develop a plan for forces to soon access and directly practice new technologies, preparing for the operation of supported production lines.
Continue to improve facilities, accelerate the construction progress of warehouse K3; study regulating remains samples to facilities with better storage conditions in case some units encounter difficulties in storage area.
Regarding funding, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to review obstacles in spending, procedures and norms, ensuring that professional work is not delayed due to financial procedures.
If necessary, it is possible to study for the Government to issue a decree, but it must be clearly stipulated, creating a basis for settlement and removing current difficulties.
