The Ministry of Public Security provides detailed instructions on the 3-step DNA sampling process for relatives of martyrs as follows:
Step 1: Receiving initial information, the person currently enjoying the martyr worship regime brings the Fatherland's Gratitude Certificate directly to the commune/ward police headquarters where they are residing.
Step 2: Declarate and identify priority subjects, relatives contact the in charge officer to carry out the declaration of 2 specialized forms of the People's Police force.
Here, functional agencies will determine the minimum information of 2 people who are relatives of martyrs (information not yet determined) according to their maternal lineage (mother line).
The priority order from 1 to 6 is strictly regulated: (1) biological mother of the martyr; (2) biological grandmother of the martyr; (3) siblings of the same mother as the martyr; (4) uncle, uncle, aunt who are biological brothers, sisters of the martyr's mother; (5) siblings of the older sister, younger sister of the martyr's mother; (6) children of the older sister, younger sister of the martyr.
Step 3: Proceed to collect samples, the selected person provides DNA biological samples to the venue according to the time announced by the Commune/Ward Police. When leaving, citizens are required to bring their ID card or chip-attached citizen ID card to serve data scanning.
Many people wonder why taking information from relatives of martyrs (information not yet determined) according to the mother line.
According to functional agencies, each person carries many different types of DNA. For martyrs' remains that have been buried for many years, the type of DNA that is best preserved is usually mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The characteristic of this type of DNA is that it is only transmitted from mother to children, so people of the same mother line will have almost the same mitochondrial DNA.
Therefore, when it is necessary to compare to determine the identity of martyrs, specialized agencies often prioritize collecting samples from relatives of the same mother line, such as: brothers, sisters, younger siblings of the same mother of the martyr; brothers, sisters, younger siblings of the martyr's mother; children of sisters, younger sisters of the mother and other relatives of the mother line, depending on each specific case.
Previously, the leader of the Department of Administrative Management of Social Order (C06 - Ministry of Public Security) said that the peak campaign to search for and identify martyrs' remains using biotechnology and population data was quickly deployed by the Ministry of Public Security nationwide.
The campaign sets a very urgent goal: striving to collect 300,000 biological samples in 2026. The roadmap is divided into two phases, in which phase 1 (from June 25 to July 25) aims to collect 250,000 samples and phase 2 (from July 26 to December 31) collects the remaining 50,000 samples.
