OurDNA is partnering with multicultural communities to ensure all Australians can benefit from advances in medical research and healthcare. By joining OurDNA, you can help improve diagnosis, treatment, and healthcare for future generations.
If you belong to one of the communities we’re working with and you join OurDNA, you will help researchers to:
Identify health conditions faster
Understand and predict illness in your community
Improve the future of healthcare for people who have the same ancestry as you
Develop future medicines and treatments for all Australians
By taking part in OurDNA, you can make sure your community is included in genetic research. This can help improve diagnosis, prediction, prevention, and treatment of illness.
By giving a small sample of blood, you’re directly contributing to the resources and databases that doctors and researchers use to understand the health issues that are important to your community.
For example, a change or variant in your DNA could be the cause of a health condition you have. The same change or variant in a person from a different community could be very common and not impact their health. Knowing more about DNA changes in your community can help to better diagnose health conditions and work towards treating or even preventing them in the future.
The way doctors practice medicine is changing. Your DNA can help them better understand, diagnose, and predict health conditions. It’s a fast growing area and will soon be a regular part of your healthcare.
Right now, millions of Australians may miss out on these advances in healthcare. That’s because many Australian communities are underrepresented in the resources doctors and researchers rely on to identify and diagnose health conditions.
OurDNA is building genetic resources that include these multicultural communities, enabling future generations to benefit from any advancements in medical research.
The OurDNA database will contain summary genetic information of Australians to help doctors and researchers find the information they need to identify or study health conditions.
Doctors and researchers will be able to see trends and patterns in the information, but not who the information came from.
The OurDNA databank will safely keep the genetic and health information of people who take part in OurDNA.
It is a resource that can be studied by health and medical researchers working to benefit Australian communities. Researchers will not be able to see any personal details of the people who have taken part in OurDNA.
OurDNA will collect people’s blood and blood cell samples and keep them safe for researchers to study in the future.
The OurDNA sample bank will help to make health and medical research that benefits Australian communities easier to do in the future.
Read the consent information and complete the consent forms.
Visit a partner pathology centre or attend an OurDNA event to give a small blood sample.
You can choose to receive updates on the research, outcomes and impact of your involvement.
Get the latest updates, community stories and information about our events.
If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, contact us.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) can be found in every part of the body, including blood and saliva. DNA contains a person’s genetic instructions, mostly in sections called genes.
OurDNA is currently funded until the end of 2027. It is our intention to continue our work until all Australian communities are represented and for the OurDNA database and sample bank to be available for as long as possible for researchers.
Yes, the OurDNA project has been approved by the certified Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Royal Children’s Hospital. The reference for our ethics approval is: HREC/91986/RCHM-2023
If you have any questions about the OurDNA ethics approval process, or wish to speak to someone independent of the research team, you may contact the Director of Research Operations at The Royal Children’s Hospital. You can phone the Director on (03) 9345 5044 or email them at rch.ethics@rch.org.au
To take part in OurDNA, you must:
Consent for taking part in the OurDNA program is done through a secure online portal. You can register on the website by clicking the “Join now” button or through the “OurDNA” app in the App Store or Google Play Store.
The online portal will give you information about taking part in OurDNA and explain what will happen with your blood and DNA samples. There are five forms for you to complete to give your consent:
The consent process will take about 20 minutes to complete. If you have any questions or need help, please contact us.
