Soaring sales of 'dangerous' do-it-yourself DNA test kits: Number of websites selling products doubles in two years
By Sean Poulter,
Daily Mail (UK)
| 01. 20. 2014
- 38 British websites now offer home testing kits - which can cost up to £300
- Paternity and genetic ancestry tests are the most popular
- Tests which claim to reveal vulnerability to diseases are also up
Sales of DNA tests for everything from the risk of developing life-threatening diseases to catching out cheating partners are booming.
The number of British websites offering home testing kits and services has doubled to 38 in just two years, research has revealed, with companies charging fees of up to £300.
DIY paternity and genetic ancestry tests are the biggest sellers, however sales of tests claiming to reveal a predisposition to certain diseases are up 14 per cent a year.
The revelation by Angelina Jolie that she had a double mastectomy because she had a greater genetic risk of developing breast cancer triggered a spike in tests.
Genetic tests also now exist for a host of serious inherited illnesses, such as Huntington’s disease or Parkinsons.
However, the advances open up potentially devastating consequences for people who get bad news about their risk of developing a fatal...
Related Articles
By Margaux MacColl, The San Francisco Standard | 09.17.2025
Designer babies are coming soon to an IVF clinic near you.
Nucleus Genomics, founded by Kian Sadeghi in 2020, when he was just 20, got its start analyzing genomes to weigh a person’s risk of everything from cancer to ADHD...
By Johana Bhuiyan, The Guardian | 09.23.2025
In March 2021, a 25-year-old US citizen was traveling through Chicago’s Midway airport when they were stopped by US border patrol agents. Though charged with no crime, the 25-year-old was subjected to a cheek swab to collect their DNA, which...
By Annika Inampudi, Science | 08.01.2025
In June, Sara* received a message asking whether she wanted to continue to participate in a massive, multicenter research project led by scientists at Aarhus University in Denmark. The iPsych study, the message said, had sequenced her genetic data from...
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...