Here’s why you should consider giving DNA samples using saliva instead of the blood sample.

Blood collection for DNA samples can pose several disadvantages like:

1. It is an invasive method.
2. It is inconvenient for the donor.
3. It requires trained medical professionals.
4. It must be refrigerated for transportation and storage.

On the other hand, using saliva for DNA testing can easily do the job without having to go through all that trouble.

Read more:-Advantages of targeted exome sequencing in contrast to whole-genome/exome sequencing? Saliva can also be used in many downstream applications like Single nucleotide polymorphisms.

• Microsatellite analysis
• HLA typing
• Whole-genome amplification
• Next-generation sequencing

Here is some example to show the compatibility of saliva with several downstream applications:

• HLA typing: Saliva is compatible with typing using NGS. Some tests were taken to compare the difference between the two and the result showed:

1. Both saliva and blood libraries were almost the same in quality.
2. They were successfully barcoded and run in a single sequencing run.
3. Mean coverage of both the saliva and blood exceeded 100.

• Single nucleotide polymorphism genotypin72g:

1. Both saliva and blood samples performed better.
2. DNA from saliva samples gives higher quality data compared with blood for the same individual.
3. Whole-genome sequencing:

In this test, no significant difference in the total number of variants was found in blood and saliva.

Therefore saliva can be considered a reliable source of DNA sample  for all types of DNA testing. So you do not have to be good for a painful invasive technique of collecting DNA samples from blood and opt for a more easy and non-invasive way of sample collection like the cotton swab method of just using saliva.