Every morning, as I walk to math class, I listen to “The Daily”, a podcast by the New York Times. Recently, a new advertisement has been a part of my morning walk: genetic testing. This relatively new technology raises questions about privilege and privacy.
An estimated 12 million people have used genetic testing services (Torkamani). Genetic testing is being hailed as a tool for the common person: allowing users to make proactive decisions about their health. Testing can be used to identify heart disease risk, breast cancer risk, and is increasingly used as ancestry testing. While genetic testing has become cheaper and faster, this tool is still restricted to certain socio-economic and racial groups. Participants of genetic risks studies are overwhelmingly people of European ancestry (Resnick). Different ethnic groups have different genetic patterns. As a result, these tools are not effective for people of non-European background. Should doctors be allowed to use a tool that is only accurate to those of a particular background?
Recently, genetic testing made the news for an entirely different reason. The Golden Gate Killer, a serial rapist, killer and burglar, was identified using a public genealogy database. While police had a genetic sample of the killer, it wasn’t in any police databases. Without use of a court order, the DNA was uploaded onto a genealogy website, GEDmatch, which identified family members of the suspect. Using family trees provided by GEDmatch, police were able to identify the killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, who has now been charged with several counts of murder. As we face privacy concerns about our digital lives, similar questions are raised about our genetic data. Entering your DNA into a database not only creates privacy concerns for your relatives, but also future generations. Is this a risk we are willing to take? The prospect of the government being able to access my genetic data or identify me using other’s DNA, without me ever giving it to them, is terrifying. Genetic testing has the potential for being dangerous tool. While it may only used to identify criminals now, what future uses could there be? Could health insurance be more expensive for those who have a higher chance of breast cancer? Could people be discriminated against because psychopath ‘runs in the family’?
Personally, the idea of genetic testing has never excited me. I would feel no more connected to my long-dead relatives by knowing where they were from. In order to understand my ‘roots’, I feel it would be better to know who my predecessors were, how they spent their lives and what they stood for.
Although genetic testing offers exciting opportunities for personalized care, there needs to be great steps in including other ethnicities. We must also take proactive measures in legislation regarding security measures about genetic information. For now, it looks like genetic testing will remain a toy for the wealthier.
Sources
Joy, Kevin. “Pros and Cons of Genetic Testing: What to Know Before You Go.” What Are the
Pros and Cons of Genetic Testing,
healthblog.uofmhealth.org/health-management/pros-and-cons-of-genetic-testing-what-
to-know-before-you-go.
Resnick, Brian. “Genetics Has Learned a Ton – Mostly about White People. That’s a Problem.”
Vox, Vox, 27 Oct. 2018,
www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/10/22/17983568/dna-tests-precision-medicine-genetics-gwas-diversity-all-of-us.
Torkamani, Ali, and Eric Topol. “Your Genome, on Demand.” MIT Technology Review, MIT
Technology Review, 24 Oct. 2018,
www.technologyreview.com/s/612276/your-genome-on-demand/.