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Discrimination fears could affect genetic test uptake
The potential benefits of new genetic tests to help predict and diagnose disease may be lost, if steps are not taken to ensure that the results are not misused by health insurers and employers, according to Francis Collins – head of the US National Human Genome Research Institute.
Proposed legislation aimed at protecting individuals in the US against genetic discrimination was passed by the House of Representatives last year, but has yet to get through the Senate. The new laws would mean that an employer could not refuse to offer a person a job on the basis that they had a genetic predisposition to a particular disease. The bill would also prohibit health insurers increasing premiums on the basis of tests showing genetic propensity for a disease.
‘It's pretty clear that the public is afraid of taking advantage of genetic testing’, Francis Collins told the New York Times newspaper, adding ‘if that continues, the future of medicine that we would all like to see happen stands the chance of being dead on arrival’.
Health experts say that the issue is not whether discrimination is actually occurring, rather, the anxiety about potential misuse of genetic test results needs to be addressed. According to Dr Kenneth Offit, chief of the clinical genetics service at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, fear of genetic discrimination is the main reason people were opting out of tests to assess their risk of certain cancers. ‘It's a tragedy that people are being scared off by this’, he said, adding ‘we are dealing with potential lifesaving interventions’.
Sources:
Fear Of Genetic Discrimination Fuelling Fall In DNA Testing
Medical News Today
25/2/08
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/98427.php