I’m subscribed to 23andMe’s blog appropriately titled The Spittoon. Today, they posted to their blog an explanation why it’s taking recent customers (like me) longer than the usual 4-6 weeks to get their results back.
Here’s an excerpt from the post written by founders Anne Wojcicki and Linda Avey:
“Some customers who recently ordered our Personal Genome Service™ have had to wait more than the usual four to six weeks after spitting to get their genetic information. We know that it can be frustrating to wait when you are curious about what your genome holds, so we would like to apologize and offer an explanation for the delay.
Because 23andMe is creating an entirely new kind of business in delivering personal genetic information, the regulatory requirements we face are both complicated and uncertain. Because of the way these requirements are evolving, we recently changed the laboratory where our customers’ saliva samples are processed.
…
Again, we regret the inconvenience to our new customers. We expect to be able to resume our normal pace of operations within a few weeks. And in the long run, we believe this switch will benefit all of our customers. We’re excited to continue building the 23andMe community!”
I’m glad they are being upfront with us about the delay. However, I’m tired of telling antsy friends and family that “my results should be hear any day now”. Hopefully, 23andMe will get their new contract lab up and running and get me my results. I’m getting pretty damn antsy.
Update: Interestingly enough, I haven’t received an email from 23andMe explaining the delay yet. In the past, they usually post news to their blog and than send out an email to their customers a day or two later. They must be fairly confident that we (their customers) all have subscriptions to The Spittoon. Hmm.
