Comments on: The Retail DNA Test Named the #1 Invention of 2008 by TIME Magazine

By: Tina Fountain

Tina Fountain — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:36:06 +0000

I agree, the curtain has been pulled back and retail DNA testing will continue to grow and be available to more people; however, it does come with certain concerns. What will the ramifications be in the event of errors, or accidental disclosure to third parties, and will the retail DNA companies keep records that can later be used against their customers?

By: Daily Scan: No Mention of a Consolation Prize for Navigenics

Daily Scan: No Mention of a Consolation Prize for Navigenics — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:01:49 +0000

[...] Genetic Genealogist Blaine Bettinger congratulates 23andMe on the award, Larry Moran at Sandwalk takes issue with it. He contends that the technology has been around for [...]

By: blogofy

blogofy — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:02:49 +0000

[...] : From: Slashdot and The Industry Stan… Blaine Bettinger /The Genetic Genealogist The Retail DNA Test Named the #1 Invention of 2008 by TIME Magazine – Old 23andMe logo via CrunchBase The latest issue of TIME Magazine lists the top 50 inventions of [...]

By: Steven Murphy M.D.

Steven Murphy M.D. — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:36:33 +0000

Ok,
So if the parents are the gatekeepers of the child’s DNA….Would it be ok if parents could mandate that their child be drug tested?
What about pregnancy tested?
What about STD testing?

If your answer is yes…..Did you know?

The American Academy of Pediatrics is pretty clear that a parent shouldn’t be able to demand that their child be tested for these things. In fact a child can’t be coerced into this type of testing either. Absence of dissent is not considered Assent…..
BTW, the government will not likely solve this either…..we need a system to screen sample providers…..this will prevent DNA theft and also prevent use against a child’s will.

-Steve
http://www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com
-Steve

By: Blaine Bettinger

Blaine Bettinger — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:18:30 +0000

Steve,
I truly don’t know. Under-18 testing does make me uncomfortable and I’m still unsure whether I would test my own children, but does that mean that I should advocate that no one do it?

And I think that the “until the ethical issues are resolved” is a non-existent point in time, unless you mean ‘resolved by the government.’ No development in the field of genomics is going to change the ethics of this issue; under-18 testing will continue to be controversial regardless of how informative or definitive DNA testing becomes with continued research. So, absent government regulation that mandates otherwise (which I most likely wouldn’t support for a variety of reasons), I believe that parents should be the gatekeepers of their children’s DNA. Just as I believe, for example, that parents should be the gatekeepers of their children’s TV use and their children’s Internet use.

By: Steven Murphy MD

Steven Murphy MD — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:48:19 +0000

Blaine,
I agree with you…But part of that education is pointing out that this company is not what it says it is…By promoting family testing and enabling parents to do this…don’t you think it is bad as well? I do….they could choose for responsibilities sake not to take any samples from anyone under 18…Until the ethical issues are resolved. That would be responsible. I also agree that the parents are most culpable. Which is why some geneticists advocate counseling and screening parents prior to testing….
But you can’t do that online, and it most def. is not scalable.
-Steve

By: Blaine Bettinger

Blaine Bettinger — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:40:34 +0000

Steve – I knew this post was going to get me in trouble, but I wanted to highlight this story to show that we are truly in the midst of something huge(what that something is depends on your point of view, I suppose).

I see your point, and I agree that genetic testing involves numerous ethical issues and dilemmas. I just continue to believe that the best way to deal with these issues is to keep educating the public rather than attack companies or individuals. Educating the public is what I try to do here at TGG, and that is what you do at HelixHealth and HelixGene.

Regarding the childhood testing that you discuss in your recent blog post, I also see the ethical issues here and they do tend to make me uncomfortable. In fact, I just had a great discussion with a reporter about this very thing earlier this week. However, I think your post misses the largest gatekeeper of children’s DNA; the parents. It is the parents who decide to test their children, who buy a test, who make their kids spit in a tube, who send away the sample in the mail. I’m not trying to absolve the companies of anything; I’m arguing that the parents are making these decisions for their children.

By: Steven Murphy MD

Steven Murphy MD — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:19:35 +0000

Blaine,
This company just keeps acting like it is doing everything right. We can’t blindly champion them. I don’t need more patients, but I do need socially responsible companies…..

-Steve
http://www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com