Start with the actual question your home team wants answered
A whole genome sequencing request is only as useful as the clinical question attached to it. Before any file moves between countries, ask your home clinician to write one or two sentences stating what they want to learn and how the answer would change their advice. That sentence becomes the reference point for every later exchange, and it prevents the China laboratory or review team from receiving a large dataset with no stated purpose.
The written question also protects you from a common administrative problem: two teams working from different assumptions. If your home team is asking about a suspected inherited condition, that is a different request from a review of an existing sequencing report. The China provider needs to know which one applies before it can confirm whether it can help. Ask both sides to keep the same wording in their correspondence rather than paraphrasing it differently in each email.
You do not need to resolve the clinical question yourself. Your role is to make sure the question is written down, dated and shared with both teams, and that any change to it is also written down. If your home clinician later refines the question, send the revised version and ask the China team to confirm it has replaced the earlier one.
Build a named record set instead of sending a folder
The most reliable exchange uses a short index document that lists every item by name, date and type. A folder of scans with unclear filenames creates avoidable back-and-forth, and it makes it hard for either team to confirm that nothing was missed. The index should state what each document is, who produced it and when, so that both sides are referring to the same item.
Typical items to discuss with the receiving team include the clinical question note, relevant specialist letters, prior genetic or genomic reports, pathology or laboratory reports where relevant, and any sample or family information the provider asks for. Treat this as a list to confirm, not a universal requirement. The China provider should tell you which of these it actually needs for its review, and your home team should tell you which items it can release and in what form.
Give each document a stable identifier, such as a short code plus the report date, and use that identifier in every message. When someone asks about a report, they can name it precisely. When a document is updated, issue a new identifier rather than overwriting the old one, and note in the index which version is current. This is administrative housekeeping, but it is what allows two distant teams to work from the same facts.
Agree who is responsible on each side
Name one contact person at your home clinic and one at the China provider. A named contact does not have to be the most senior clinician; it needs to be someone who can confirm what has been sent, what has been received and what is still outstanding. Without a named owner, requests can sit unanswered because each side assumes the other is handling them.
Ask each contact to confirm receipt in writing, listing the identifiers they received. That single reply resolves most uncertainty about whether a file arrived. If something is missing, the reply should say which identifier is missing rather than describing the gap in general terms. This keeps the exchange factual and quick to close.
Decide in advance who will consolidate the final response. Usually the China provider returns its review or sequencing-related output to you or to your named home contact, and your home clinician decides how it affects your care. Confirm that division explicitly, because it prevents either team from assuming the other will act on the findings. The hospital and its clinicians decide suitability and clinical decisions; coordination services do not.
Put the scope and the return format in writing
Before records are transferred, ask the China provider to confirm in writing what it will do with them. Useful points to confirm include which records it will review, what output it will produce, who will receive that output and in what language. If the provider cannot confirm a point yet, ask it to say so rather than leaving it implied.
The return format matters as much as the input. Ask whether the response will be a written summary, a report, a set of findings with an accompanying explanation, or something else, and whether your home team will be able to read it without further translation. If interpretation or translation is needed, confirm who arranges it and whether it is part of the agreed scope or a separate arrangement.
This is also the point to ask about the written quote or scope document. Ask what it includes, what it excludes and what remains undecided, and ask who is the payee for each part. Do not assume that a component is included or charged separately; ask the named provider about its actual written scope. Keep that document with your record index so that both teams can see what was agreed.
- Which records the provider will review, by identifier.
- What output it will produce and in what language.
- Who receives the output and who acts on it.
- What the written scope includes, excludes and leaves undecided.
- Who the payee is for each part of the arrangement.
Handle the practical transfer and consent questions
Ask both sides how they prefer to send and receive records, and whether they can accept the format you have. Some documents may need to be sent through a specific channel, and some may need a signed consent or authorisation before release. Confirm these requirements with the provider and your home clinic rather than guessing, because the rules differ between institutions and countries.
If any part of the exchange involves a sample, ask the China provider what it needs to know about the sample's origin, handling and accompanying documentation, and ask your home team what it can provide. Keep this as a question to the two teams; do not assume a particular shipping or documentation rule applies. Where a question concerns import rules or customs, that decision belongs to the relevant customs authority, not to a clinician or a coordination service.
Confirm consent early. Ask your home clinic what authorisation it needs to release records to a provider in China, and ask the China provider what it needs from you. If a family member's information is involved, ask both sides what additional consent applies. Sorting this out before the transfer avoids a stalled exchange later.
Keep a single running log and a clear next step
Maintain one running log that records each item sent, its identifier, the date, the recipient and the confirmation received. Share it with both named contacts so there is one shared version of the exchange rather than two partial pictures. When the China provider returns its output, add it to the log with the same discipline.
If you want help organising records, clarifying the written question or requesting a specialist appointment, ChinaSpecialistCare can assist with non-clinical coordination, including bilingual communication and appointment-registration requests. This does not replace your home clinician's judgement or the China hospital's own assessment, and an initial enquiry is free. You can start with a short summary rather than a complete archive.
A practical next step is to write the one-sentence clinical question, list the records you already hold with dates, and send that short summary to both your home clinic and the China provider. Ask each side to confirm what it can send or receive, and ask the China provider for its written scope. That single message usually reveals exactly what is missing and who needs to act next.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.