Should families own genetic information? No

doi:10.1136/bmj.39252.392940.AD

BMJ 2007;335:23 (7 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.39252.392940.AD

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Head to head

Should families own genetic information? No

Angus Clarke, consultant clinical geneticist

Institute of Medical Genetics, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, Wales UK

clarkeaj@cardiff.ac.uk

We all share our genetic make up with relatives, and AnnekeLucassen argues that we should also share ownership of the resultsof DNA analysis. Angus Clarke believes, however, that in mostcases the knowledge can be considered private

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Although genes will often be shared within a family, most specificitems of genetic information will have been generated by examiningor testing an individual. Such information will, inevitably,belong more strongly to that person than to his or her relatives.To claim that the information belongs to the family is to missthe point. In current practice, to make that claim asks thequestion that the test would usually be setting out to answer:is mutation M that is found in person P also present in relative,R? If it is present in R, then P and R share the particulargenetic variant; otherwise they do not.

There are occasions when genetic information does belong intrinsicallyto the family. For example, in a genetic linkage study lookingat the pattern of sharing of DNA sequences among family members,the results are meaningful only when the family is viewed as. . . [Full text of this article]

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