StemCell Therapy

December 2007

The Human Genome Project enabled genomic understanding.

A child with Downs Syndrome showing white spots on the iris known as Brushfields Spots. Tests can screen for a predisposition to the syndrome. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Will a genetic test change your life for the better? Predictive Genetic Testing (PGT) is the use of a genetic test to predict future risk of disease. Although PGT is relatively new, arising from the mapping of the human genome, it has rapidly emerged as a technology that carries many benefits, but many risks, as well. Considerable debate surrounds the moral and ethical issues regarding persons who have undergone predictive genetic testing.

X-linked recessive manner means that the inherited trait almost exclusively affects males.

PGT is utilized commonly in the following circumstances:

Each one of these circumstances carries a particular set of ethical, legal, or social implications, depending on the reasoning behind the testing. For example:

Genetic results are directly related to an individuals identity.

In any circumstance, privacy and confidentiality are critical because the genetic results are directly related to an individuals identity.5 Not only is confidentiality an issue for health care, but to prevent genetic discrimination in insurance coverage and employment, as well. Information from a genetic test can affect an entire family. If the disorder is either genetically dominant or carried by an individual, that persons parents, children, brothers, sisters, and even extended family may also be affected. Questions that arise may be:

Furthermore, a person may make life-altering decisions based on the results of a genetic test.6

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Genetic Testing to Predict Disease: Ethical, Legal, and ...

This entry was posted on July 16, 2015 at 11:48 pm and is filed under Legal Issues Genetic Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |