I remember visiting “DNA Akshar” in Jodhpur, India. Name of this company literally meant “letters of DNA”. It was a swanky glass and steel building in the middle of a swath of small sandstone houses. It was large commercial laboratory with colossal computers and enormous number of robotic arms. Robotic arms turned around, sipped up liquid and dispensed into miniature containers. All you heard was humming sound and squeaks-squeal of automation. These miniature quantities of liquid contained fragments of DNA which came for analysis. Interestingly you couldn’t see scientists wearing white colored biosafety suits. Few engineers manned robots though and some manned computers that controlled robotic arms.
So what happened downstream? Well! The processed liquid got loaded onto chips and inserted into complex looking machines labeled “sequencer”. Sequencer’s ”read”, what is written on DNA and converted it into a long string of letters A, T,C & G. DNA thus read, were sent to Los Angeles (USA). They were stored in huge digital storage devices housed on large ships in Pacific Ocean. Information storage and retrieval took so much energy that this US company built special ships which could derive energy from ocean tides and send into ships energy grid. This was enough power to sustain the DNA storage-retrieval operations on the ship. There were cable ports that connected these ships to inland facility in LA and all the data seamlessly moves between Jodhpur-off shore LA-in land LA.
DNAlogic was a company that pays to acquire some of this data for analysis. The biosafety suit wearing scientists that I was looking for in Jodhpur are all housed here at DNAlogic, LA. Just that they came to work in shorts and T-shirts. Some of them were also decked up in formal suits. They were clinicians and specialists who understood human body. Today they have a 10min meeting schedules on 2nd floor of the building to discuss my DNA. But why my DNA? I never asked them to take a look at my DNA. I don’t know how my DNA ended up here. Then I remembered Srivastava.
Srivastava was the guy who was at the desk of “DNA Akshar” at Jodhpur. While he handed me over my DNA CD in an envelope with GOVT of India seal on it, he was talking to someone on LFCC Life insurance company. It is the same company that provided me with a policy with extraordinarily high premium. LFCC kept mum on why my insurance premium was so high. So I decided to follow the trail of my DNA.
GOVT of India being the signatory of International DNA privacy act had set up DNA Information Storage and Control Centre (DISCC). All the DNA that ever got sequenced in India gets stored at that facility in Mhow. I paid a visit to Mhow. This center was located in picturesque surroundings of Vindhyachal hills. I was armed with an invoice of “DNA Akshar” to gain entry into the premises of DISCC. However, I was in for a shock. DISCC security seemed relaxed. Two people at the desk did not even make an eye contact when I approached. Upon my request to get a copy of my genome from DISCC, they rudely said “Sharma se ja ke milo....doosara mala”(Meet Mr. Sharma at 2nd floor). DISCC was full of small offices with office files piled up. Tea vendors seemed the busiest people around. I could see loads of Khaki uniforms. It turned out that DISCC was jointly run by scientists and police. At 2nd floor I met Mr Sharma who turned out to be a constable. Sharma was busy talking politics with a young junior scientist in the office. She was clearly not interested but seemed like she did not have much choice just like me. When I asked for my DNA CD, Sharma got agitated. He suggested that it was illegal for me to ask for DNA sequence related information. Luckily I had a print copy from internet that said that primary customer has the right to the raw data of his/her DNA sequence. Sharma clearly did not like it and asked me to come at a later time when the CD would be ready.
About the same time neatly dressed gentleman walked in and I could see the smile erupting out of Sharma’s “pan” laced lips. “aaiye sir aaiye, kahaan the itane dino” (welcome sir, you were sorely missed). “Sir” was a man of business. He did not show much emotions but did look at me with discomfort. He opened his bag and gave a bunch of A4 sized sheets to Sharma. It had names followed by numbers. Number similar to what I got from “DNA Akshar”. I was witnessing sale of DNA sequences. It was really that simple. Sharma gave the papers to the junior scientist who walked into a dingy room with a computer. Minutes later she walked out with a pen drive. Not many words were exchanged after that. “Sir” gave three separate envelopes to both of them and walked off. I was disillusioned is an understatement. Somehow I evoked the real Indian spirit within me and said “Sharma kitna loge” (Mr.Sharma how much should I pay you). He was nonchalant while saying “sir aapto 1000 de do bus. Analysis chahiye to 5000 aur lagenge” (Its only 1000 rupees for you and 5000 more for analysis). I was sure of not coming to Mhow again. I paid him 6000 and got my raw DNA sequence along with my DNA analysis report in just 6000 rupees (100$).
My happiness was short lived though. Report suggested that I am very likely to get small cell lung cancer at later age. I had a sinking feeling. I dragged myself to a tea vendor while thinking....well! Atleast now I know what will kill me. It helped that I wasn’t married so I did not have to stress about my family. Anyway the report said I will get the disease in later part of my life. I can enjoy the time till it lasts. In a way I also saved money. Had I requested the DNA analysis report from DNAlogic, it would have costed me anywhere between eight to nine thousand dollars. It also explained why I was being rejected for jobs by good manufacturing companies and why LFCC Life insurance company quoted such high premium for me. Well! They all got to GOVT of India DISCC before me!