Aggregated News

People tested for predisposition to a genetic disease will no longer have a say in whether their results are given to their close relatives, under proposed changes to NSW laws. The NSW Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, has introduced legislation to allow doctors to inform a patient's blood relatives they are at risk of having or developing a serious illness. Such tests can be used to identify whether people are at increased risk of cancer or heart disease. Professor Ron Trent, a genetics expert from the University of Sydney, said in most cases people were willing to share information with relatives, but some refused to disclose private information. ''That puts a doctor in an incredible dilemma of not being able to give a family member potentially life-saving information,'' he said. Professor Trent said some cancers of the colon or the breast could be prevented with the benefit of genetic testing. He said doctors would only inform relatives in serious cases. The newly elected president of the Australian Medical Association of NSW, Brian Owler, said the legislation was ''a reasonable approach to...