Direct To Consumer Genetic Testing Essay

I do not believe that “direct-to-consumer” genetic testing is wise, especially without the involvement of trained professionals or set guidelines. As mentioned in the prompt, some of the risks that I believe are important involve the ethical and social challenges direct-to-consumer testing can create as well as the complexity of certain genomic tests.

These results may also help doctors make recommendations for treatment or monitoring, and give people more information for making decisions about their and their family's health, allowing them to take steps to lower his/her chance of developing a disease. For example, as the result of such a finding, someone could be screened earlier and more frequently for the disease and/or could make changes to health habits like diet and exercise. Such a genetic test result can lower a person's feelings of uncertainty, and this information can also help people to make informed choices about their future, such as whether to have a baby or

HC1: Personalized medicine is a relatively new practice that involves using a person’s genetics to make medical decisions about which direction to take in terms of disease prevention, treatment, and diagnosis (“Personalized medicine,” 2015). The practice of personalized medicine allows doctors to predict which diseases a certain individual may be susceptible to so that proper treatment less likely to harm the patient can be ensued. This could potentially be an incredible breakthrough in the field of science and medicine (“What is personalized”, n.d.).

The medical advances being made feasible by genetic testing are very exciting. It is possible for people with predispositions for genetic defects to know in advance if they will have a healthy child or not. If they find out there is a problem they can choose to terminate the pregnancy or they can prepare in advance for their child's special needs. There is even new technology called Ex Utero genetic testing. This test is performed on eggs fertilized through in vitro fertilization before they are even put in the mother's uterus. Understanding genes in the developing human will help doctors understand the nature of genetic diseases and may lead to countless other medical breakthroughs. Though it is probably a long way off doctors may one day be able to manipulate genes. If this is possible some genetic problems may be cured.

More than six thousand genetic diseases have been discovered; however, few genetic diseases are curable. With the advancements in science and technology, genetic testing has saved the lives of millions. The process in genetic and genomic research known as Genetic testing has the capability of detecting inherited cancers, diseases and genetic abnormalities. These test can be done from the safety of one’s home without worrying if it will be detected by employers or insurance companies. Although it can be believed the results of these test can cause a great deal of stress, there is little evidence to show people undergo anxiety and distress upon receiving the results. After receiving the results, what the consumer chooses to do to improve their

Consumers have the right to learn and obtain information about their personal genome and its potential implications in future health outcomes. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actions was protecting the rights of the consumer when they blocked 23andMe’s consumer advertising campaign in 2013. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies are poorly regulated. There is no current industry standard that consumers can point to when it comes to DTC genetic testing. Therefore, DTC services need more industry standardization and scrutiny on their methods and techniques before the general public can fully support them as valid entities for genetic information. This incident isn’t the first time that the federal government intervened in

Direct-to-Consumer genetic testing can allow an individual to become more engaged and educated in managing their own health. Granted this is the case if they are informed of both the positive and negatives associated with DTC genetic testing. In the future DTC genetic testing may serve diagnostic purposes, but without proper interpretation and medical guidance it will remain a generalized look at one’s genetic health and an approximate (but still useful) view into one’s

These can also let us know possibly if we have a gene that makes use more likely to be addicted to caffeine, drugs or alcohol. Every genome can be linked to one thing or another. The upside to this is that we may be able to prevent disease or even cure disease by simply know what is toxic for us based off our DNA make up and genomes. The down side is that some people may not be able to handle what they will find out or believe it so much in their mind that they actually cause it. Although these blueprints maybe fairly accurate there are also environmental, and economic factors that may cause us to get something that we are not predisposed to. I think the article was very interesting even down to the art of which you can get an actual blueprint of your DNA with your spouses or child’s and have it painted on a canvas. Although it is something I would do and I would like to know to take preventative measures. I would also be very nervous and hesitant about knowing what might be my cause of

However, healthy people tend to not take the same risks as people who are in desperate need of the product being tested. The only biomedical testing as of now, that should not be restricted from people is DNA Microarrays. According to DNA Microarrays: a Powerful Genomic Tool for Biomedical and Clinical Research, the microarrays can detect diseases and other deformities. "Microarray technologies are now used for comparing other genome features, among individuals and their tissues and cells," (DNA Microarrays) This current use could be used to find new diseases that should not be present. This would allow scientists to compare a sick person with a healthy person, and find exactly what is wrong. What determines a healthy person would need to be debated and figured out. Scientists plan on using this technology to quickly diagnose a disease and implement therapeutic interventions. Scientist, by using various regression models such as the Kaplan-Meier model (Figure 5), have been figuring out gene selection

Genetics. They are the building blocks of every being on Earth, and are responsible for everything from the way a person looks to the way they act. They also contribute to how healthy a person is. Hereditary diseases and cancers have the capability to plague a family all thanks to genes. A single gene can be passed on for generations (Nazaret 63). Only up until recent years scientists are now able to predict the future. Mankind has the ability to plan for the future. Scientists can predict what hereditary diseases and cancers a person may be susceptible to in their later years of life. This process is referred to as DNA testing. Having the ability to grasp insight into what the future holds for a person is beyond

In Michael White’s article Why We Should Think Twice About Giving Genetic Tests to Our Kids, he states “for some hereditary diseases such as Huntington's disease, most at risk adults choose not to be tested, since there is no medical treatment that will help anyway.” This is important because it says that even adults don't want to know about their genes. In Genetic Testing: Is It a Good Idea? author Bonnie Rochman stated “...they probably won't get one: genetic test predict the likelihood of developing many common conditions, and most people would find themselves at greater risk for at least some of them.” She stated this to show how the likelihood of them getting tested as kids and it saying they won't get will increase as they grow up. Last, a survey from cancerresearchuk.org states that “ only 50% of peole survive cancer.” The website stated this to show that no matter if you get tested early or not you still have a chance of getting the

Although genetic testing can benefit society in numerous ways, such as the diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited diseases and ancestry verification, it also has the precarious capability to become a tool in selecting a more favorable genetic makeup of an individuals and ultimately cloning humans. Genetic testing will depreciate our quality of life and may result in discrimination, invasion of privacy, and harmful gene therapy.

The Goal of the Human Genome Project is to obtain genetic mapping information and to determine the complete sequence of all human DNA by the year of 2005. The project started in 1990 and 180 million dollars are being spent on it annually. This adds up to a total of over 2 billion dollars for the 15 year budget. Of this 2 billion dollars budgeted, 5% is spent annually on the ethical, legal and social issues. This report focused on some of these issues.

Is genetic testing really important? Genetic testing is a procedure that helps detect many genetic problems or diseases. Genetic testing is very important and needs to be done to every pregnancy and every human being for genetic diseases. These diseases include sickle cell, diabetes, and Down syndrome. I love genetic testing because I knew that my son had Down Syndrome before I was three months pregnant. I was able to prepare myself as for how my child would be developed and how it’ll affect him for the rest of his life. This disease will not only affect him but me as well. This type of testing can detect Down Syndrome, help people find their unknown family, but the bad part is that not all people can afford for these tests. What if someone

Ever heard of Genetic Testing? It’s a branch of Genetic Science (Genetic Science is pretty much characterizing the etiology of illness.) that involves testing the Genome to find mutations that cause disease or will cause disease, an example of this being the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, these genes can get a massive variety of genetic mutations that cause cancer. ("Genetic Testing for Cancer: A Complex Decision.") All in all it’s a slowly building advancement in science that’s slowly increasing to a field of massive size. “You know, every week, there’s a new company, there’s a new test, there’s a new competitor.” ("Will Sequencing Your Genes Change The Way You Live ? And Die?.") However it has a lot of controversy and quite a few ethical issues that come along with it, an example being the fact that people that already have defects tend to dislike these tests.(Middleton) However if human lives could be saved or even made better because of this, then why shouldn’t it be allowed to progress? Genetic Testing is definitely a good thing and the field should be allowed to advance. It could save thousands upon thousands of lives. The benefits that come from Genetic Testing far outweigh the risks that come with it.