diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1e0882b9dffbc68d6882e759ea86e95272b24566..b285b5ddabc459224887f02da2b2ce52274d3772 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 * Add error output for no fastq's
 * Update input bag export config to only fetch fastq's that match *[_.]R[1-2].fastq.gz naming convention
 * Remove check for multiple fastq check in parse metadata (redundant and no longer valid)
+* Handle blank submitted endness better
 
 *Known Bugs*
 * Override params (inputBag, fastq, species) aren't checked for integrity
diff --git a/workflow/rna-seq.nf b/workflow/rna-seq.nf
index 4b0056be03e3c840cd5919a281316074bf9b7470..caba7040bd470b4b59d103d07690f8c1cda99f1d 100644
--- a/workflow/rna-seq.nf
+++ b/workflow/rna-seq.nf
@@ -337,12 +337,10 @@ process parseMetadata {
     elif [ "\${endsRaw}" == "Paired End" ]
     then
       endsMeta="pe"
-    else
-      endsMeta=\${endsRaw}
-    fi
-    if [ "\${endsRaw}" == "" ]
+    elseif [ "\${endsRaw}" == "nan" ]
     then
       endsRaw="_No value_"
+      endsMeta="NA"
     fi
 
     # ganually get endness