What Is DNA? DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the material that makes up genes. Your DNA determines traits like your hair color, eye color, and risk for developing some diseases. Your DNA is more than 99% the same as everyone else’s DNA. The tiny amount that is different is what makes each of us unique.
One of the goals of All of Us is to return information back to you if you want it. If you want to learn about your DNA and you give us a blood or saliva sample, we can give your DNA results to you. We would share the results—which are not a medical diagnosis—with you through your All of Us account. We will only show you the results you want to see.
We plan to check your DNA for a variety of information. This information may include:
DNA is an important source of information about health. Researchers can study DNA and other information from All of Us participants to make discoveries.
They could:
When you join All of Us, we will ask if you will let researchers study your DNA. If you agree and provide blood or saliva, we will analyze the DNA in the samples. Two ways we will do this are by:
If researchers want to study DNA information from our participants, they must complete special training first. They also must agree to follow the rules and values of All of Us by signing our Data User Code of Conduct. Researchers will not be able to see personal details like your name or where you live. Visit the Research Hub to learn more.
You can participate in All of Us without completing Steps 4-6, but we generally will invite you to provide blood or saliva samples only if you have completed them. You need to provide a sample in order to get DNA results. We also encourage you to complete all of the surveys available in your account.
It is your choice whether you want All of Us to give you your DNA results. If you say “Yes” to the Consent to Get DNA Results, we will contact you once we are ready to check your DNA for a specific type of result. Then you will need to log in to your All of Us account to learn more about the specific type of DNA results. If you don’t want those results, you can choose not to get them. You can always change your mind later.
If you do choose to get those DNA results, you will get access to a personalized report when it is ready. Some reports can be ready almost immediately while others may take a few weeks to a few months.