TalkDNA Banking: CHOP, Kaiser Permanente
Funny that we should be talking about DNA banking this week. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the oldest pediatric hospital in the U.S., just announced the launch of a major program to collect and analyze DNA profiles of up to 100,000 patients. The goal is to build a database of children’s genetic profiles that researchers can study in relation to disease and disease risk, in hopes of developing new diagnostic tests and drug therapies.
Here in the Bay Area, Kaiser Permanente is developing plans for a database of 2 million adults’ DNA profiles. Other institutions in the US and Europe are developing databases focused on environmental polymorphisms, pharmacogenetics, and common adult diseases.
These new DNA banking projects highlight two major advances that, in tandem, have leapfrogged medical discovery: the scientific advances of the mapping of the human genome and the technological advances of microchip technology. By exponentially speeding up researchers’ ability to collect and analyze genetic data, these advances are ushering in a renaissance in medicine.
Not surprisingly, the CHOP and Kaiser projects are intensifying debate about privacy issues and medical ethics when it comes to genetic information. They also raise the issue of patents versus public interest, of which I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more debate.
What do you think — should genetic discoveries be patented by research institutions or private companies, or does this information inherently belong to the public?
Technorati Tags: DNA, DNA banking, children’s hospital of philadelphia, kaiser permanente, human genome, microarray, genetics, privacy, medical ethics
June 14th, 2006 at 4:34 am
[…] I came across this blog post while poking around on the DNA Direct web site. They pose the question: "should genetic discoveries be patented by research institutions or private companies, or does this information inherently belong to the public?" […]
June 16th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Thank you, Ron, for your perspective on the tension between the economics of research and the interests of the public. Thanks also for the kind words about the “genetics 101′ info in DNA Direct’s resource center. I hope you will keep reading our blog and sharing your insider’s perspective.
Also, I tried to post a comment on Searching Your Genes but was locked out. Do you allow comments?
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:57 am
Lisa, I have your feed on my reader to keep track of your posts. And, I fixed Searching Your Genes so you can comment directly. Thanks for the “heads up”.
June 27th, 2006 at 9:46 am
No problem! I look forward to reading Searching Your Genes