Implications of direct-to-consumer whole-exome sequencing in South Africa

Zané Lombard; Fiona Baine; Amanda Krause; Anneline Lochan; Shelley Macualay; Careni Spencer; Colleen Aldous; Jantina De Vries; Karen Fieggen; Bertram Henderson; Eileen Hoal; Craig Kinnear; Noelene Kinsley; Alison September; Michael Urban; Himla Soodyall; Michael Pepper; Michele Ramsay

doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i2.10534

Implications of direct-to-consumer whole-exome sequencing in South Africa

S Afr Med J. 2016 Jan 12;106(2):139-40. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i2.10534.

Authors

Zané Lombard¹, Fiona Baine, Amanda Krause, Anneline Lochan, Shelley Macualay, Careni Spencer, Colleen Aldous, Jantina De Vries, Karen Fieggen, Bertram Henderson, Eileen Hoal, Craig Kinnear, Noelene Kinsley, Alison September, Michael Urban, Himla Soodyall, Michael Pepper, Michele Ramsay

Affiliation

¹ Southern African Society for Human Genetics, Johannesburg, South Africa; Division of Human Genetics, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, National Health Laboratory Service, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. zane.lombard@wits.ac.za.

PMID: 26821891
DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i2.10534

Abstract

This editorial examines a number of vitally important ethical, legal and scientific concerns that have to be addressed to ensure proper and ethical implementation of direct-to-consumer whole-exome sequencing in South Africa. Individuals taking part in this endeavour must be fully informed of the positive and negative sequelae.

Publication types

Editorial

MeSH terms

Genetic Counseling / organization & administration*
Genetic Privacy* / ethics
Genetic Privacy* / legislation & jurisprudence
Genome-Wide Association Study* / methods
Genome-Wide Association Study* / trends
Humans
Sequence Analysis, DNA* / ethics
Sequence Analysis, DNA* / trends
South Africa