The Soul of Biotech

The EEOC has invited the public to comment on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA was passed in the spring of 2008 as a way to bar employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of genetic information. GINA also prevents healthcare insurers from discriminating based on genetic information.

GINA is an important step forward, as mentioned by Wayne Rosenkrans at the HBS Healthcare Conference. There are two obvious deficiencies in the current law:

1. There are no restrictions on life insurance companies. A life insurance company could still deny coverage (or even revoke coverage) if it learned of your genetic predisposition to a certain disease state.

2. There are no restrictions on the genetic research activities of personal genomics companies such as 23andMe and Navigenics. Privacy and security regulations are still up to the individual company and the license agreement it enters into with its customers.

Here’s to hoping that activists will take the opportunity to help shape GINA into a law that will cement the foundation of the ethical use of genetic data for the new millennium.

Recently, a couple more links crossed my virtual desk. You probably know websites like Match and eHarmony for singles dating. These websites usually try to help singles match up based on personality profiles and other self-reported biographical data.

Now we’ve got ScientificMatch and GenePartner, which from the names I initially thought might be for bioengineers looking for a mate. Instead, it’s for mate-seekers looking to do a little bioengineering. Both sites include normal biographical questions about prospective mates, such as values and physical preferences. But on top of that, both sites use cheek swabs to collect DNA samples as well to provide a new dimension of mate compatibility. The theory underlying both websites is that of diversifying immune systems: that is, because we don’t all have the same immune system pieces, we seek mates who have as different immune systems as we do, in order to produce children with the best chance of survival across a wide variety of types of illness.

I admit, I’m curious to try it. Having skimmed the articles involved, the research appears not only sound, but also detailed enough to have discovered confounding factors, such as being raised away from one’s parents at an early age, or taking birth control. If I do try it, I’ll post here and let you know what happens.

Hat tip to ScienceRoll.