BRT Laboratories, Inc. is a

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland-based

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company that performs DNA testing. The company has three divisions: Relationship Testing,

Forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

, and Clinical Services. It is a privately held, wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Baltimore RH Typing Laboratory, Inc.

History

BRT Laboratories, Inc., with its parent company Baltimore RH Typing Laboratory, has been a provider of products and services to the medical, research, and commercial communities since 1945. In April 2000, BRT Laboratories, Inc. was established as an independent and wholly owned subsidiary of Baltimore Rh Typing Laboratory, Inc., for the purpose of continuing commercial testing and service activities.

Services

Relationship Testing

BRT's Relationship Testing division offers services in Paternity Testing and

Family reunification Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to ...

Immigration Testing. DNA testing can identify relationships between parent and child, full or half siblings, grandparent and grandchild, uncles or aunts and nieces or nephews, as well as identical and non-identical twins. The Laboratory is accredited by the

AABB AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies) is an international, not-for-profit organization representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and biotherapies. The association works coll ...

(formerly, American Association of Blood Banks). Testing can be performed for submission in legal proceedings (court admissible) or for personal knowledge. Application for immigration to the United States and Canada often requires documentation of biological relationship between a petitioner and his or her beneficiary. DNA testing can be used to prove a relationship if documents are absent or challenged. The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices accept DNA testing results from AABB accredited laboratories only.

Forensics

BRT's Forensics division offers services in serology screening, DNA profiling, and case review. These services are contracted by government agencies, defense counsel, and private citizens or organizations for several applications. Government agencies contract BRT’s Forensic division for criminal and “no-suspect” casework. The Laboratory offers STR analysis and

Y-STR A Y-STR is a short tandem repeat (STR) on the Y-chromosome. Y-STRs are often used in forensics, paternity, and genealogical DNA testing. Y-STRs are taken specifically from the male Y chromosome. These Y-STRs provide a weaker analysis than autoso ...

analysis with each of the commercial kits commonly used in the US. The Forensic division is accredited by ASCLD/Lab – International and meets the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. BRT has also received accreditation from the Texas Department of Public Safety and has been approved by the Maryland State Police Forensic Science Division for analysis of casework that can be uploaded to CODIS. The Laboratory adheres to curren
Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods
(SWGDAM) an

guidelines. Defense counsel contract BRT Laboratories to perform case reviews, which may include assistance with the interpretation of subpoena documents, sample retesting, and/or expert witness testimony. The Forensic division also provides serology and DNA profiling services to private citizens for infidelity testing and to private organizations or medical professionals for sample identity verification.

Clinical Services

BRT's Clinical Services division is licensed by th
State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
for Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics and is registered under the US Department of Health and Human Services
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.
Test offerings include

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

testing and Bone Marrow Engraftment (chimerism) monitoring. BRT’s tuberculosis (TB) testing is performed using the

Interferon-gamma Interferon gamma (IFNG or IFN-γ) is a dimerized soluble cytokine that is the only member of the type II class of interferons. The existence of this interferon, which early in its history was known as immune interferon, was described by E. F. ...

release assay T-SPOT.TB. This assay is recognized by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

as a special TB blood test with an accuracy of diagnosing active TB >80%. Bone Marrow Engraftment monitoring assesses the relative ratio of donor and recipient cell populations in the post-transplant peripheral blood or bone marrow of the patient. BRT performs this test using STR analysis, the current "gold standard," http://www.currentprotocols.com/protocol/hg0917 yielding a sensitivity of 95–98%.

Accreditations

*Member of and accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (

) *Registered by the

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 are United States federal regulatory standards that apply to all clinical laboratory testing performed on humans in the United States, except clinical trials and basic research. CLIA P ...

(CLIA) *Licensed by the State of Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene *Licensed by the State of New York Department of Health *17025 and Forensic Requirements for Accreditation (FRA 1 and FRA 2) *

College of American Pathologists The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is a member-based physician organization founded in 1946, comprising approximately 18,000 board-certified pathologists. It serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating ...

(CAP) Proficiency Participant *American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD/LAB-International)

Locations

BRT is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with an extensive network of sample collection centers located across the United States and throughout the world.

References

{{reflist Biotechnology companies of the United States Biotechnology companies established in 1945 1945 establishments in Maryland Companies based in Baltimore