Washington (ChatterShmatter) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it very clear that they want power over the sale of personal DNA tests or genetic tests, but should they be able to regulate these?
There are companies out there, including Knome Inc, deCODE Genetics, Illumina Inc, Navigenics of Foster City, as well as 23andMe of Mountain View who have all developed or are developing these personal DNA tests.
The personal DNA tests are being seen as a major breakthrough in helping people understand their genetic make-up, chance for potential diseases, etc.
The FDA has made it clear though that these will not go up for sale to the public until they give them clearance to do so
With the personal DNA tests, consumers would likely be able to discover whether or not they were at a high risk for heart disease, as well as other types of potentially-fatal diseases later in life.
This is due to the fact that it has been proven that certain genetic variations make people more likely to develop certain diseases.
The fear though is that people may take these tests too seriously and make decisions based on them that are unwarranted and could put their health at risk.
The FDA released letters to all of the companies to inform them they will have to go through a review process before these tests are sold to the public.
So what are your thoughts? Should the FDA be able to stop the sale of these personal DNA tests? Or is it the right of the people to know this information through this type of test?
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