What's the turnaround time for whole genome sequencing?
Turnaround Time: Whole Genome Sequencing
| Whole Genome Sequencing 30x | Usual Turnaround Time* | Possible Turnaround Time* |
| Premium Expedited Service | 2 weeks | Up to 3 weeks |
| Standard Service | 10-12 weeks | Up to 16 weeks |
*Turnaround time starts when the laboratory receives your DNA collection kit.
Whole genome sequencing is one of the world’s most advanced genetic technologies and accurately sequencing the genome requires a tremendous amount of laboratory work and computing power. While the more basic DNA tests performed by companies such as 23andMe use ‘genotyping’ to obtain data on less than 0.1% of the genome, whole genome sequencing is a more advanced, intricate technology that takes considerably longer because it obtains data on ~100% of the genome.
The total turnaround time from when the laboratory receives your DNA collection kit to when the data and results are available in your Sequencing.com account is usually around 10-12 weeks for our Standard WGS service and usually 2 weeks for our Premium Expedited WGS service. When the laboratory is very busy, the turnaround time for our Standard WGS service can be as long as 16 weeks.
For our Standard WGS service, it takes 2-3 weeks for the laboratory to extract your DNA from your kit, purify it, and perform quality control testing, and then 8-9 weeks for your DNA to be fully sequenced and analyzed. When the laboratory is very busy, processing times may be extended by up to 4 additional weeks. There are also numerous quality control checkpoints throughout the sequencing process to help ensure the highest quality data is obtained.
Please note that turnaround times are an estimate and are not a guarantee. For our Standard WGS service, we do our best to sequence your genome in less than 16 weeks but sometimes that’s not possible.
Our Standard service and Premium Expedited service use different DNA collection kits and are processed by different laboratories. Because of this, it’s not possible to upgrade to Premium Expedited once you’ve purchased and sent in a Standard WGS kit.
Due to the technical complexity of whole genome sequencing, our stringent quality controls throughout the process, and our mission to only deliver the highest-quality genome data, we are unable to rush sequencing faster than 2 weeks (Premium Expedited) and 10-16 weeks (Standard).
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