2010 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript
This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2010. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.
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How does ELSI differ, if at all, between alive and dead individuals for DNA information?
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Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.:
I currently manage a portfolio of grants regarding the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics research, focusing on law, genetic variation, and social policy. I also oversee the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) component of the 1000 Genomes Project, the Human Microbiome Project, and various other large genomics research projects.
Many people take the position that a person's privacy interests in their DNA information end when they die. This is a complicated issue, though, because DNA is shared within families, so DNA information about a person's dead relatives has implications for surviving family members. Also, there continue to be controversies about whether it is ethical to test the DNA of famous dead people, such as Abraham Lincoln - just to satisfy public curiosity about what their genetic makeup might have been. As with most ethical questions in the field of genetics, there are no easy answers here. |
| David R Bachinsky in NC (teacher) |
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