OU official says DNA blood tests being considered

Sunday, March 27th 2005, 11:17 am

By: News On 6

PICHER, Okla. (AP) _ A University of Oklahoma official says the school is considering DNA tests on nine questionable blood vials collected as part of a blood-lead study of Tar Creek.

OU began investigating claims in November that blood technicians and a field supervisor put their blood into vials meant for testing blood-lead levels of Tar Creek children.

To determine whether blood vials had been tampered with, OU hired the Oklahoma Blood Institute in Oklahoma City to use a blood-identification technique known as phenotyping. Phenotyping identifies a person's blood type and antigens within the blood.

An official with OBI says phenotyping has determined that the blood types and antigens of the field supervisor and two phlebotomists match the blood type and antigen markers for nine questionable samples.