Don’t want the DNA test result used to clone a perfect you.

12. Already happy with my life
13. Technology is still in its infancy
14. Don’t have extra money to pay insurance after testing
15. Don’t want to wait for diseases that will never come

Hsien, great post!

Note to readers: If #2 is your only reason… start a blog and raise it!

[...] always intriguing Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei wrote a piece today titled 10 Reasons NOT to Take a DNA Test. At the end, she asks, “What other reasons can you think of to convince someone NOT to take a [...]

Hey there Hsien,

Thought-provoking as always! I put up a more thorough response on my blog today, but the upshot of it is this: you don’t need it. Any health-affirming choices you want to make can be made without the benefit of DNA testing.

I’ll request the following post from you, though: what are 10 reasons you SHOULD take a DNA test?

Someone else may copyright your genes… (Thanks Michael Crichton)

@WTj,Hsien presumably there can be no perfect clone of any organism because there will always be at least one mutation in the process…you might get 99.9995 or whatever, but that cosmic ray, or particle of polyaromatic hydrocarbon, or stray photon from a UV light will inevitably cause a mutation.

db

You are deathly afraid of someone scrapping cells off the insides of your cheeks with a Q-tip?

I may or may not come up with a list of 10 reasons to take a DNA test. I suspect some people would accuse me of being a shill for the industry if I were to do it.

Hmmm … you post a list of ten reasons NOT to do something and one of them is “You believe that ignorance is bliss.”

Nobody is fooled by this. What you’re saying is that, in your opinion, you need to have a reason NOT to take the test because taking the test is the logical thing to do.

Larry, there are a lot of people out there with inherited genetic mutations that lead to diseases who are getting major pressure from their physicians and family members to get a genetic test to know their risk of actually becoming ill. Huntingtons’s and breast cancer are two big ones that come to mind, also mentioned in the post. It doesn’t look to me at all as though Hsien is suggesting that you’re illogical for not wanting a DNA test. It sounds like she’s pointing out that there are people who would just rather not know, and that’s a legitimate reason not to do it. (See 7-10).

It sounds to me like what you’re saying is that you are opposed to genetic testing. So just say that!

Kristen

You are afraid the test might inadvertantly uncover “a nonpaternal event” or show that your parentage is not what you think it is.

Kristen King says,

It sounds to me like what you’re saying is that you are opposed to genetic testing. So just say that!

I’m not opposed to genetic testing. What I’m opposed to is the promotion of private for-profit genetic testing for the average person who doesn’t understand the ramifications and/or the limitations.

I don’t have a problem with genetic testing that’s done in collaboration with a genetic counselor.

Lisa says,

You are afraid the test might inadvertantly uncover “a nonpaternal event” or show that your parentage is not what you think it is.

Exactly right. Since we know that the frequency of “nonpaternal events” can be as high as 5% in some cases, we should make damn sure that the people who swab their cheeks and plonk down $1000 know what might happen.

It won’t be long before we have reliable tests for one hundred or so genetic predispositions—or more likely “presumed” predispositions. That means that everyone will likely test positive for one of two of them.

Does everyone reading this honestly believe that the general public is prepared to handle that kind of information? Remember, these are people who don’t believe in evolution and think homeopathy is effective medicine.

I’m not opposed to genetic testing. What I’m opposed to is the promotion of private for-profit genetic testing for the average person who doesn’t understand the ramifications and/or the limitations.

Larry, that is the whole point of this post: understanding the ramifications and why people may choose NOT to undergo genetic testing. You seem to be arguing against the very nature of the post, when if fact it supports what you just said. What am I missing here? Hsien isn’t promoting it. She’s discussing it.

Kristen

Oh, and as a afterthought…

Does everyone reading this honestly believe that the general public is prepared to handle that kind of information? Remember, these are people who don’t believe in evolution and think homeopathy is effective medicine.

Evolution is a theory, not a fact, and homeopathy is effective medicine. What do you think they used for thousands of years before big pharma came on the scene? Complementary and alternative medicine is a large and well-respected field with significant clinical evidence speaking to its effectiveness. Are you saying that people who don’t believe in the theory of evolution (which, for the record, has numerous holes in it) and take echinacea when they feel a cold coming on are of lower intelligence and reasoning capability than others? Because that’s what it sounds like you’re saying.

Kristen

16. You don’t want to be dropped by your insurance if you should uncover something hoary.

@kaila - that is a GREAT one.

kk

Are you saying that people who don’t believe in the theory of evolution (which, for the record, has numerous holes in it) … are of lower intelligence and reasoning capability than others? Because that’s what it sounds like you’re saying.

Yes, with respect to evolution, that’s what I’m saying.

People who don’t accept science (evolution) have no credibility when it comes to discussing genetic testing.

People who don’t accept science (evolution) have no credibility when it comes to discussing genetic testing.

I’m not sure what your experience has been with people who believe in creation over evolution, Larry, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone, creationist or evolutionist, who denies the existence of DNA or genetic mutations. I just don’t see how you can possibly believe that people with a well-reasoned believe in a creator “don’t accept science” and are therefore incapable of having a valid view when it comes to genetic testing. That is a big jump in logic from where I’m sitting.

Kristen

[...] kits do not provide any help; they are simply a waste of money. Maybe you want to look also at the heated blog discussion during the Just Science week 2008 I’m not opposed to genetic testing. What I’m opposed to is the promotion of private for-profit [...]