"Rep. Maslack might be well advised to let his bill die quietly, for two reasons. First, the science supporting the bill is, at best sketchy. The measure would limit analysis to the DNA variants that code for the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), proteins situated on the surface of white blood cells that mediate the immune response. Because of their direct relationship to immunity and disease, HLAs have been studied extensively to uncover correlations between particular HLA variants and specific diseases. However, HLA testing has not been successfully used to define ethnic groups in genetic terms. Essentially, this is because HLA DNA, though highly variable, is not much different than other polymorphisms examined by variant analysis: Although certain HLA variants may be more common in some subpopulations than in others, unless a particular variant is unique to one population,
it can yield no conclusive determinations about ethnicity. Indeed, Dr. Patrick Beatty, who has studied the frequencies of HLA variants among North Americans as part of the National Marrow Donor Program, notes: "I know of no HLA markers which are unique to Native Americans, or for that matter, any other major racial [or] ethnic category."
-Redefining Race: Can Genetic Testing Provide Biological Proof of Indian Ethnicity?
by Eric Beckenhauer Stanford Law Review October 2003 Vol.56:161
pg.185-186
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