Bin Laden's sister, whose name is not known, died from brain cancer several years ago in Boston.The FBI immediately subpoenaed her body so that it could later be used to identify the al-Qaeda leader if he was caught, a report in the Telegraph said.
The brain was preserved and tissue and blood samples taken from it were used to compile a DNA profile.
"The tissue sample was reportedly then matched to the DNA of the man shot dead by US troops in a raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan," the report said.
Bin laden was shot in the head and chest by US Navy seals in a firefight in the compound in Pakistan's Abbottabad area.
US officials confirmed that the body had been identified by a DNA test conducted in Afghanistan.A national security official told CNN there were multiple confirmations of bin Laden's identity, adding that they used "facial recognition work, amongst other things, to confirm the identity."