Your Genetic Make Up to be Stored, Without Consent, for Profit
By TechEye,
TechEye
| 04. 25. 2013
Dr Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK, warned at a MedConfidential event in London that beyond electronically storing patient records, the next step for the UK is linking these records with DNA and genetic information on an all-in-one database.
It is already public policy, she pointed out, and a Human Genomics Strategy Group (HGSG) urged the need for a national DNA database for personalised medicine last year - which was welcomed by the secretary of state for health, which has asked for the recommendations to be implemented.
Genetic data is massively revealing - and can be used to identify relatives as well as the patient, and can be used to assess the potential for passing recessive genetic disorders on to children.
Anonymisation here, Wallace argued, is impossible. For example, it would be possible to swab DNA from a coffee cup and compare this to your sequence, also linked to your medical record, stored in a research database. The HGSG plan threatens to remove people's right to know exactly who is using their genomic data and why - as...
Related Articles
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...
By Katherine Drabiak, Journal of Medical Ethics Forum | 08.07.2025
Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute
Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on children born from pronuclear genome transfer (sometimes called “3-parent IVF,” “mitochondrial donation” or “mitochondrial replacement therapy”) at Newcastle Fertility Center...
By Annika Inampudi, Science | 07.10.2025
Before a baby in the United States reaches a few days old, doctors will run biochemical tests on a few drops of their blood to catch certain genetic diseases that need immediate care to prevent brain damage or other serious...
