INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Everence co-founder Patrick Duffy knows you might be skeptical about the company technology, which takes a DNA sample and using it to
synthesize a substance that can be added into tattoo ink.
In other words, you can have the DNA (and soon hair or cremated ash) from a loved
one included in a tattoo on your body.
&There a definite ick factor [at first],& Duffy admitted, while others might find it &gimmicky& or
think &it snake oil, it fake,& if they don&t take the time to learn more.
But Duffy said the idea behind Everence is to &give people a way
to stay connected emotionally in a way that was permanent.&
&It all comes down to emotional connections, intangible links to the things that
make us or break us,& he said.
Take Duffy co-founder Boyd Renner, who said he served 28 years in the Navy, but was ultimately most inspired
by his wife, who has cystic fibrosis: &She does an hour and ahalf of treatments in the morning, but she still runs half marathons.& So
Renner got an &everence& that incorporates his wife DNA into a tattoo design that combines elements of lungs, trees and roses.
Or take
Johnny Walker, a New York City police officer and 9/11 first responder who has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer
Walker said that he used Everence technology to incorporate DNA from his family into tattoos, so that they could be with him as he undergoes
chemotherapy.
&And if this life was going to take me somewhere else, I didn&t want to go there and be alone,& Walker said
&I wanted to have my family with me.&
As for the technology, Duffy noted that Everence is being advised by medical and scientific experts,
including Bruce Klitzman, associate professor of surgery at Duke University, and Edith Mathiowitz
professor medical science and engineering at Brown University
He also said that while the FDA doesn&t systematically regulate tattoo ink, &We went ahead and proactively submitted to them.&
Synthesizing
the DNA-based material was the &highest bar& technologically, Duffy said, as well as &the one we could build the strongest intellectual
property protection bar around.&
As for using ash or hair, he said it ¬hing new& to add ash to a tattoo, but many tattoo artists are
understandably hesitant to do it
Duffy is hoping to address their concerns both technologically (by purifying the ash and reducing it to a uniform particle size) and
economically (by offering insurance case there are any issues)
He also recruited a group of tattoo artists who can advocate for the product.
&It can be applied by any tattooer in the world, added in with
any existing ink with no special equipment, training or materials,& he said
&It lasts forever.&
Everence synthesized DNA substance is currently available for preorder at a price of $245.
