Terms & Conditions

We provide genetic testing services through our user-friendly kits, delivered straight to your doorstep! These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) set out all of the information you need to know when using the Shafra Service, (the “Service”); as well as all of your rights and responsibilities. Upon registering for our Service, you will be requested to accept these Terms and may only use the Service upon acceptance thereafter. 

Note that your privacy is highly valuable to us. Due to this, we have formulated a Privacy Policy, which addresses all the information you need to know on how we collect, use and share your data. The Privacy Policy is incorporated in these Terms by reference. 

The Privacy Policy can be found here.  

You will continually maintain ownership of your data; however, in order to facilitate our process, we need the ability to use your data for the purposes set out in these Terms and in our Privacy Policy. If you agree, we may also use your information for research purposes.

As we are a one of a kind genetic sequencing service provider in the region, we are constantly striving to enrich our database and improve our Service. Unless stated otherwise, each new feature that we add to the Service will also be subject to these Terms. 

1. Definitions

• The preceding paragraphs shall constitute an integral part of these Terms and shall be read and construed in light of them.
• The following capitalised terms, when used in these Terms, shall have the respective meanings set out below unless a different meaning is expressly stated:

2. Use of the Service

• In order to use our Service, you must be a Registered User with a valid account on Shafra.me. Upon registration, you must provide accurate and complete Registration Information, as well as make sure to keep your password information confidential at all times.
• The Service is intended for personal use only by adults and minors in the Sultanate of Oman currently and may extend to other regions in the upcoming future. These Terms will apply to all the locations in which the Shafra Service is operative.
• You must be at least 18 years old to purchase a DNA Kit. Only one DNA Kit may be purchased and accordingly, only one saliva sample may be submitted per Shafra Account. Prior to undertaking the Service, such Registered User must consent and sign our Consent and Acknowledgment Form.
• A parent or legal guardian may purchase a DNA Kit on behalf of a Minor for whom the parent or legal guardian is responsible. You agree that the Minor is fully aware and has agreed to the collection and processing of their saliva sample.
• To purchase the DNA Kit, you will be required to pay the amount specified in full through the payment portal in Shafra.me.
• Shafra reserves the right to modify the price and mode of delivery at any time at its sole discretion.
• Upon purchasing the DNA Kit, the Service will designate an estimated time of arrival via an express courier service. The DNA Kit includes an instruction manual for the extraction of your saliva sample. We advise you to read the instructions carefully and extract your saliva sample accordingly.
• Once the saliva sample has been extracted, you may notify us. As such time, we will designate an estimated time for the collection of the DNA Kit; after which, it shall be referred to our Lab Partners.
• Once received by our Lab Partners, your DNA will be extracted from your saliva sample and the genetic sequencing process will commence on the extracted DNA. All data processed and collected from the extracted DNA will be referred to Shafra, after which your Shafra Report will be formulated and available on your Shafra Account. By accepting these terms, you expressly agree for your saliva sample to be referred to our Lab Partners.
• We use the information collected from you for reasons such as registering your account, processing payments, communicating with you, performing our genetic sequencing services, as well as conducting Shafra Research and Service development activities. For more information on how your information is collected, used and processed, please read our Privacy Policy here.
• The Shafra Report is not designated as a medical or diagnostic tool and shall not be used to for such purposes. If you have any health-related concerns or questions arising from the Shafra Report, we encourage you to seek advice or medical assistance from a healthcare professional.

3. Provision of Service

• By using the Service, you expressly agree that your Registration Information shall be shared with an express courier service, to the extent that is reasonably necessary, in order to deliver the DNA Kit to you. However, the DNA Kits designated to Registered Users will not contain any Registration Information or any other Information that may be used to detect the identity of the Registered User.
• All Information on the DNA Kit will be de-identified, and your saliva sample will be labelled and coded for storage and identification purposes. Shafra is the only entity that possesses the information necessary to de-code the identities of the Registered Users.
• If you have any questions, queries or issues regarding the Service, you may contact our Customer Service Team. In such instances, we may use or request additional information, as reasonably necessary, to answer your questions and/or investigation and troubleshoot problems or complaints. Additionally, we may access your information or Shafra Account in order to resolve disputes raised by other Customers.

4. Risks of the Service

There are certain risks associated with the Service. These risks may arise due the following: 

• Inaccuracy or uncertainty of information provided in the Shafra Report due to the nature of your sample. 
• Limited information contained in the Shafra Database. 
• Testing may increase an individual’s anxiety or stress if the results are disadvantageous or discouraging.

5. Waiver of Proprietary Rights

By using the Service, you acquire no rights in any commercial products or Shafra Research that may be developed by Shafra. This entails that you will not receive any compensation for commercial products or Shafra Research that result from your Genetic Information.

6. Unlawful Use of Service

• By accepting these Terms and using the Service, you warrant that you will not use the Service for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. 
• You may not use the Service in any manner that could interfere with the security functionalities or features of the Shafra Service in such a way that may deem the Service inoperative, circumvented, malfunctional, compromised or vulnerable to interference by third parties.  
• You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any information through means that were not intentionally made available or provided through the Service.
• You may not falsely mislead Shafra regarding your identity and you may not impersonate any person or entity. 
• You may not violate these Terms.
• If Shafra has any reasonable grounds to suspect that you have violated any of the conditions in this Clause (5) during your use of the Service, Shafra reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future uses of the Service. In addition, Shafra reserves the right to claim all loses resulting directly or indirectly from such violation of these Terms.

7. Termination of Service

• Certain instances may prompt the early termination of service, these instances include:
  • Faults or complications in the processing of the saliva sample;
  • Loss or damage of the saliva sample;
  • Noncompliance of Applicable Laws by Shafra.
• In such instances, you may claim a full refund or schedule the delivery of a new DNA Kit, with no additional charge. 
• We reserve the right to terminate the Service immediately and without notice to any customer, if there appears to be a breach of any of these Terms and particularly, the unlawful use of service in Clause 6, as well as the warranties in Clause 8. Upon such termination, we reserve the right to recover all losses resulting directly or indirectly from such a breach.
• Once you have purchased the DNA Kit, the Service may not be terminated for convenience and you are not entitled to a refund, except as detailed in Clause 7.1 above. However, if you no longer require the Service, your sample will not be processed by our Lab Partner and shall be destroyed accordingly. 
• If you no longer wish to have your Registered Information stored in your Shafra Account, you may delete the account. Once you delete your Shafra Account and data, your account will no longer be accessible, and this process is permanent. When your account is deleted, all associated information is deleted. 
• Under normal circumstances, once the Shafra Report is issued, the Service is considered to be completed. 

8. Warranties and Representations

• By accepting these Terms and using this Service, you warrant or represent the following:
  • That you are at least (18) years of age and that you have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement;
  • If you are registering on behalf of a Minor, you warrant that you are the parent or legal guardian directly responsible for such Minor and you have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement on his/her behalf.
  • That you are not an insurance company or an employer attempting to obtain information about an insured person or an employee.
  • The Registration Information, as well as any other additional information, you provide is strictly your own and is accurate and complete;
  • The saliva sample collected is your own or that of a Minor whom you are directly responsible for as a parent or legal guardian;
  • Not to send us your saliva sample if you have reason to believe you have an active infectious disease that is transmissible by your saliva;
  • To comply with all applicable laws;
  • Not to commercially benefit from the Service, reproduce or publish any content or information found on the Service, unless expressly permissible by these Terms;
  • You will not commercially benefit from the DNA kits;
  • To be responsible for the usage and activity on the Service made via your Shafra Account; and
  • Not use any information obtained from the Service, either in whole or in part, for a medical or diagnostic purpose or for any discriminatory purpose or illegal activity;
• Shafra warrants and represents that we shall use our best endeavors to keep your information private at all times, as detailed in our Privacy Policy.

9. Indemnity

You agree that you will indemnify and hold Shafra, our employees, and our agents harmless from any claims, damages, or other expenses (including legal fees) that result from your use of the Service and your violation of these Terms or other documents incorporated herein by reference. This indemnification obligation will continue after you stop using the Service.

10. Disclaimer

You expressly acknowledge and agree that:

• Your use of the Shafra service is at your own risk.
• Shafra disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.
• Shafra makes no warranty that the Service: 
  • will meet your expectations or requirements;
  • that it shall be uninterrupted, timely, or error-free;
  • that the results obtained will be accurate or reliable;
  • that any errors in the software will be corrected immediately
• Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the services is at your own discretion and risk and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system, loss of data or breach of privacy that results from the download of any such material.
• No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you through the Service shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms.
• Shafra disclaims any liability with regard to any actions resulting from your participation in the services to the maximum extent permitted by law.

11. Limitation of Liability

• Shafra is committed to protecting the privacy of Minors as well as adults. However, if the Service is used to process the saliva sample of a Minor, the parent or legal guardian assumes full responsibility for ensuring that the information that he/she provides to Shafra about the Minor kept secure and that the information submitted is accurate.
• In all cases, we limit our liability to the fullest extent allowed by law. We will not be liable for any unintentional damage, any actual, incidental, or consequential damage, or for any loss or claim of any kind.

12. Notices

Any notice issued under or in connection with these Terms shall be in writing and signed. Such notices or communications shall be delivered:

• To Shafra, by:
  • express courier service; or
  • e-mail.
  • On the following addresses:
    Oman Technology Fund
    KOM5
    PO Box 34, PC 135, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
• To the Customer, if sent to his/her Shafra Account on shafra.me.

13. Assignment

We reserve the right to assign or transfer our rights and obligations under this Agreement. These terms are personal to you and, as a result, you may not, without the written consent of Shafra, assign or transfer any of your rights and obligations under this Agreement. There shall be no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement.

14. Modifications to the Terms

• Shafra reserves the right, from time to time, to modify these Terms. If we modify these Terms, we shall make it available through our website.
• By continuing to access or use the Service after modifications become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms. If any modifications are unacceptable to you, you may stop using our Services and delete your account at any time.

15. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of the Sultanate of Oman.

16. Assignment

All Disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be referred and submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Sultanate of Oman.