Genetic privacy

As a result of developments over the past half century in the mapping and sequencing of the human genome there is now increasing capacity to test for genetic mutations linked with specific diseases. There are different forms of genetic testing (eg, diagnostic and carrier testing). Perhaps most relevant for this chapter is predictive genetic testing of individuals whose families are affected bu a genetic disorder, to ascertain whether they have inherited the gene mutation and are therefore at risk. Whiles knowledge of predisposition to genetic risk can be psychologically burdensome, identification of a gene mutation through predictive genetic testing can facilitate surveillance, with the likelihood of detecting the onset of disease earlier, at a time when treatment is more likely to be effective.