In the past few years, there have been quite a few companies that will sell you a “home DNA kit”. You place an order, pay for it, provide a sample of your genetic material, and send it off to a lab. The results you get back will tell you what, exactly, is in your genes. Some people question the reliability of these tests. Are these simple to use DNA tests really a good idea?
You can probably think of at least one of the companies that sells DNA collection kits. They have funny names like deCODEme, 23andMe, and DNA11, just to name a few. Each one has their own way of collecting your DNA. One wants saliva, another wants cheek cells, and each has a unique collection device for you to use. You send off your DNA, and the company has it analyzed, in their very own, super fancy, lab.
Your results can tell you a lot of potentially valuable information. It might be used to point out relatives that you didn’t know you had. Most of these kinds of DNA tests will tell you if you are at high risk of developing certain kinds of cancer, or a vast variety of other heritable diseases. Some companies offer to tell you what your child might have a natural talent for, based on what is found in their genes.
It has become very easy to get a glimpse of what your own, personal, DNA holds. But, is it really a good idea to learn those things about yourself? Some people wonder how reliable these tests really are. If your test says that you have are at risk to develop breast cancer, can you be certain that this is true?
Then, there are the psychological aspects of knowing what is in your genes. What if you learn that your genes include a mutation that increases your risk for a particular disease? Will you be ready for the emotional impact of that discovery? It seems to me that if you truly believe that a specific heritable disease runs in your family tree, you should consider getting a genetic test that is run by a doctor. At least that way, if you learn that you are at risk for something awful, you might have access to some kind of counseling to help you deal with it.
Image by Mark Cummins on Flickr