People who participate in CARTaGENE have the possibility, if they wish, to participate as well to the genealogical option of CARTaGENE. The genealogical option of CARTaGENE is not compulsory. Information documents regarding the genealogical option are provided to participants to bring home, when they meet the nurse or the interviewer. The participation to the genealogical option of CARTaGENE consists in :

1. Signing a consent form specifically for the genealogical option of CARTaGENE.
2. Completing a genealogical questionnaire providing last names, first names, places and dates of birth, marriage and death (if deceased) of the participant and his parents, grand-parents, etc.
3. Return by mail the signed consent form and completed genealogical questionnaire  in the prepaid preaddressed envelope the to the BALSAC Project at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

BALSAC Project collaborates with the genealogical option of CARTaGENE and execute the genealogical’s constitution of participants. For doing so, BALSAC staff use the information of the genealogical questionnaire given by participants et complete them with BALSAC registry.

BALSAC registry is a genealogical database located at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. It allows rapid reconstruction of genealogies of the Québec population by tracing ancestors back to the 17th century. Genealogies produced by BALSAC help researchers find family links between participants, for example, as well as identify shared ancestors and find out where they originate from, etc. These information are useful to understand the demographic and historic factors that have shaped Québec’s genetic heritage, and the distribution of genes or certain diseases throughout the Québec population.

Personal information is protected by BALSAC. BALSAC can only be used for scientific research. Before obtaining access to the data of BALSAC, researchers have to demonstrate that their project corresponds to high ethical standards, and that they agree to conform to the Règlement sur la protection des renseignements personnels et l’éthique de la recherche concernant le fichier BALSAC.

For more information about the genealogical option of CARTaGENE, please read the FAQ .