Sending Genetic Material Through Customs

Today I had to send a couple of swabs containing samples of my DNA to the USA. It hadn't crossed my mind that I would need to supply a customs declaration. On the spot I had to decide whether my cheek swabs were an animal food product? A commercial sample? God forbid, a GIFT? With a postal worker tapping impatiently on the counter my brain froze in fear, what if they open it to check what it is....What if they determined it should be something other that what I had said, what if they came after me with a 357 magnum and a clock tower. I ran through every possible permutation and then just ticked a box.

I declared it as a document (even though I clearly marked the label DNA SAMPLE ) I am typing this from an undisclosed location from an encrypted connection *shivers in the corner*

So, you ask me, what are you doing sending parts of yourself in the mail? Well I have been waiting for several months for my back-ordered kit from National Geographic. NG in conjunction with my employer are doing some funky research into the origin of the species and I though it would be cool to check where we had come from.



You didn't see me do this!