The biomaterials currently available for this population are shown in the table below:

Population Description

Principal Investigators for Community Engagement and Sample Collection:
Charles Rotimi, Howard University, Washington, DC
Duncan Ngare, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

These cell lines and DNA samples were prepared from blood samples collected in Webuye Division, of Bungoma district in western Kenya. All of the samples are from unrelated individuals who identified themselves as having four Luhya grandparents.

The Luhya are classified as a Niger-Congo population and are Bantu-speaking. It is important to include a reference to "Webuye, Kenya" when describing the source of these samples. Including the name of the locality and the country where these samples were collected reinforces the point that the sample set, while not genetically "atypical", does not necessarily represent all Luhya people, whose population history is complex. The population should not be described merely as "African", "Sub-Saharan African", "East African", or "Kenyan", since each of those designators encompasses many populations with many different geographic ancestries.

After the complete descriptor "Luhya in Webuye, Kenya" has been provided, it is acceptable to use the shorthand label "Luhya" or the abbreviation "LWK" in the remainder of the article or presentation. However, the full descriptor for each population should be provided before the shorthand labels are used; this will help to avoid the risks associated with over-generalization of findings.

It may be scientifically appropriate to pool data from these samples with data from other ancestrally related groups, when the data show that the groups have similar allele frequencies. If the groups all have African ancestry, the designation "African ancestry" (abbreviation: AFA) to describe the combined analysis panel is recommended. If only groups very closely related to the Luhya have similar allele frequencies, then another abbreviation may need to be used.

Additional guidance about how to refer to the populations can be found at Guidelines for Referring to the Populations in Publications and Presentations.

Policies and Guidelines

• Important Information for Investigators Who Order Samples
• Information Provided to Sample Donor Communities
• Secondary Distribution and Shared Use of Cell Cultures and DNA Samples