NHS to sell DNA tests for healthy Britons

Healthy people in England are to be given the option of paying to have their DNA analysed by the NHS in an attempt to advance understanding and uncover new medical treatments, the health secretary has said.The announcement of the service, which will also be offered for free to people with serious conditions, comes less than two months after NHS researchers said they had reached their goal of sequencing 100,000 whole genomes during five years of work by the 100,000 Genomes project.“Genomics has the potential to transform healthcare and I’m really proud that the UK is leading the world,” said the Health Secretary, Matthew Hancock. He added that “seriously ill children and adults with genetic conditions, including cancer, will be offered DNA analysis as part of their routine care” from this year. “And, while healthy people should not have this service free on the NHS, there are huge benefits to sequencing as many genomes as we can – every genome sequenced moves us a step closer to unlocking life-saving treatments.”Hancock announced the launch of the “genomic volunteering” scheme, under which people – both those who pay and those getting it free – will be given the option of having their DNA analysed by NHS scientists in an attempt to predict the patient’s risk of developing various conditions. In return, the anonymised data must also be handed to researchers to help them develop treatments.The plans were met with some scepticism from those who suggested the results may be misinterpreted and highlighted the sensitivity of the data.Anneke Lucassen, the chairwoman of the British Society for Genetic Medicine, told the Times: “There is still a lot of misunderstanding of what whole-genome sequencing can deliver. There is a view that it will give you clear clinical predictions and, most of the time, it will not.”