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An article in the Tuesday, September 12, 2006 issue of the New York Times (free registration required) looks at the wild and largely unregulated world of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Andrew Pollack details the history, companies, products and practices of this growing phenomenon. These tests promise to provide information relevant for all sorts of quasi-medical and non-medical concerns. As correspondent Andrew Pollack writes:
With a few mouse clicks, consumers can order tests that promise to tell them if they are at risk for particular diseases, to trace their ancestry back to the time of Genghis Khan, to help choose which antidepressant would be best for them, to identify the sex of their fetus as few as five weeks into pregnancy and to give advice on diet or exercise.
The trend to offer genetic tests directly to consumers is growing by leaps and bounds as the number of associations between specific forms of genes that vary between individuals are reported in the scientific literature.
Although vigorously opposed by most mainstream scientists, health care providers, policy makers, and public health officials, the process for accessing these tests online or in retail stores is completely legal. The burden of determining the value of and interpreting the test results is borne completely by the consumer and it is definitely true that in this arena, the "buyer must beware" if considering purchasing these products.
Comments
I can see this situation getting out of hand. What if these products can be used on a foetus?
Posted by: Pregnancy Calendar | May 8, 2007 4:03 PM