Consultation on genetic tests announced

The Human Genetics Commission (HGC), an advisory body to the UK Government, has issued a public consultation paper asking whether genetic tests should be sold directly to the public or should only be available from a doctor. The consultation follows reports in June that a number of the UK's largest high-street retailers had refused to stock over-the-counter genetic testing kits.

Before June, genetic testing kits made by the UK Company Sciona were already on sale via the Internet, and had been trialled in a number of Body Shop stores across the UK. The kits, called 'You and Your Genes', allowed a customer to collect cells from the inside of the mouth, and send them off for analysis. In conjunction with a detailed lifestyle questionnaire, Sciona offered 'lifestyle guidance' to customers. But the UK Consumers' Association and GeneWatch UK, an independent genetics watchdog, argued that these kinds of tests are misleading. Sciona now offers genetic testing only through health professionals.

The HGC consultation will ask whether genetic testing should be made available direct to the public or should only be available from a doctor, like other medical tests. It will also ask what the role of medical professionals should be in the provision or regulation of genetic tests, how the provision of such tests over the Internet could be controlled, and who should be able to have access to the tests. Whether genetic test results should be stored with patient's other medical records will also be considered.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, chair of the HGC, said that 'technological advances, coupled with the public's growing awareness of health-related issues, mean that 'high street' genetic testing is likely to increase'. Because of this, she said, the HGC needed to 'examine the current framework' to see if regulation of genetic tests would be necessary. The HGC will report to ministers by the end of the year.