Essay on Genetic Testing and Screening

   The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be

One of the benefits of prenatal screening is to enable early detection of the developmental defect embryology. This embryology developmental defect may be due to the mutation or genetic inheritance. Mutation is a condition characterized by permanent change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. It can range in different sizes from a single DNA building block (DNA base) to a large segment of a chromosome. On the other hand, genetic inheritance is a condition whereby parents pass traits such as height and other characteristics to the children by chromosomes. “Sonograms, genetic tests and a new test called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis -- which is a genetic test conducted on embryos for people attempting pregnancy through in vitro fertilization -- allow women to better predict if the infant will have a genetic defect” (New York Times Magazine, 2006). Thus thorough these tests, medical practitioners are able to identify and make early preparation toward any abnormalities of the fetus.

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.

It is patients’ right to opt for genetic testing on their own DNA, although they are accepting a great risk by doing so.

As you can see genetic testing is very important and can affect a child's and parents lives for the better and the worst. Children all over the world have serious genetic diseases that affect their life on a daily. Some of these diseases are Achondroplasia, Down syndrome, and Turner's syndrome. Many believe genetic testing is a good way to test for these genetic conditions before the child is even born, but others think that it can harm the baby very badly and even cause a miscarriage, so they choose not to do this kind of testing. Knowing about the most serious genetic diseases is very important for expecting parents to be informed as well as being

Genetic testing is when tests are done on the blood and other tissue to find genetic disorders in an individual. It is used as a healthcare tool to detect gene variants associated to a certain disease or disorder, and is used non-clinically for paternity testing and forensics. There are many different methods of testing, usually done with a blood sample. Other methods include diagnostic testing, carrier testing, prenatal testing, pre-implantation genetic testing, newborn screening, pharmacogentic testing, and a few others.

Genetic testing identifies changes in ones genes and chromosomes. These changes often lead to diagnoses of conditions, disorders, or diseases. Through testing, “one can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person’s chance of developing or

Not only are there benefits with genetic testing, but there are benefits by not going through genetic testing. Genetic testing can be costly, and therefore will be less expensive by not following through with the tests. Genetic testing is usually not covered by insurance; therefore, many families would have to decide if the costly payments are worth their budget. More than one test may have to be used to detect if there is a disease taking course. Back to the military wife, two of her daughter Riley’s tests came back negative. At first, her daughter was diagnosed with developmental delays. Not only did she go through doing genetic testing, but she also did an MRI. Both of these tests didn’t

Embryonic screening allows for the elimination of inherited diseases before birth or a treatment plan before birth. In breast cancer patients, genetic testing allows the physician to know if chemotherapy is necessary, which would expand treatment options. Genetic testing could eliminate years of experimental testing and medication use used to diagnose a new disease. Overall, genetic testing is in alignment with the core medical philosophy that early prevention leads to early treatment, which leads to an overall better outcome for the patient.

All women should be offered genetic testing during child-bearing years. It may be done before pregnancy or during pregnancy.

A few months ago I watched a movie called Gattaca, which dealt with the issue of genetic discrimination in the near future. In the movie, people were separated into two classes, those that were genetically screened and positively altered before birth and the class that was unaltered. The separate classes had stark divisions, from what jobs that you were able to apply for to where you could eat. Security was aimed at keeping unaltered people away from the enhanced people. Knowledge about who and what you are was done by "instant" genetic genotyping that tells anyone everything that they want to know about a person’s genome from a small sample of blood or a hair

Probably, applied genetics' most impacts on society are as a result of genetic tests. In general, genetic tests seek to detect some feature of a person's genetic constitution. This feature can be a disease causing mutation or a marker DNA sequence used to detect presence of another gene. Obviously these procedures used for testing the status of DNA, RNA or chromosomes are included in genetic tests. What is more it is possible to include some protein based tests and classical medical examinations when they aim to detect inheritance of a trait. Genetic tests have been divided into four categories in this text, and they will be examined in greater detail later. These categories are:

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.

Healthcare in America is in a crisis. By 1996, more than 43 million Americans were uninsured. By 2010, the number is expected to rise to 57 million. These figures are already shocking, but they are even more so considering that the healthcare costs of the US total $1.2 trillion or 15% of the gross national product (GNP) – the highest in the world.

Prenatal genetic testing has become one of the largest and most influencial advances in clinical genetics today. "Of the over 4000 genetic traits which have been distinguished to date, more than 300 are identifiable via prenatal genetic testing" (Morris, 1993). Every year, thousands of couples are subjecting their lives to the results of prenatal tests. For some, the information may be a sigh of relief, for others a tear of terror. The psychological effects following a prenatal test can be devastating, leaving the woman with a decision which will affect the rest of her life.