An expert predicts that the NHS could read the genetic codes of babies in as little as five years
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Will the parents have a DNA test for rare diseases? An expert predicts that the NHS could read the genetic codes of babies in as little as five years
- The head of Genomics England said the baby’s genetic code will be read to identify the disease
- Professor Matt Brown said the NHS will offer the tests in five years.
- The measure could raise ethical dilemmas if parents tell children they have conditions
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The genetic codes of all babies could soon be read to see if they are at increased risk of disease.
Rare diseases in children would be much easier to detect, said Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer at Genomics England.
He predicted that all parents would have the chance to have their baby’s genetic code read by the NHS in as little as five years.
However, the move would raise ethical quandaries, such as whether parents should be told their children have genes that only increase the risk of a serious condition, rather than dictate that it will arise.
Professor Matt Brown, chief science officer at Genomics England, predicted that all parents would have the chance of having their baby’s genetic code read by the NHS in as little as five years.
The security of highly sensitive personal data, and who will analyze it for the common good, are other obstacles.
Last month, Genomics England and the NHS announced a pilot scheme to sequence the genomes of 100,000 babies over the next two years, about one in 12.
A ‘vision’ document for the £105m ‘Newborn Genomes Programme’ states: ‘If the pilot is successful, [there will be] implementation in NHS routine care.’
Professor Brown said: ‘We have to see if it is acceptable to the general public. It will never be mandatory.
“But it’s likely that before too long, it will be an option for people to consent to having their baby’s genome sequenced.” [on the NHS].’
Giving a possible time scale of five years, Professor Brown said the cost of whole genome sequencing (WGS) continued to fall, while the technology improved. WGS now costs the NHS between £800 and £1,000 a time. Last September, Illumina, an American company, claimed that it could read a person’s genome for £165. Professor Brown said a cost of £150 would be “quite cheap” given the potential savings over a lifetime.
“It will give people a genome for life,” he said. “In its early years it will help to identify rare diseases and help diagnose parents with a sick child.”
Some 3,000 children are born in Britain each year with rare diseases that could be detected earlier with genetic sequencing.
On average, it takes five years to get a diagnosis, and parents endure a long search and visit countless doctors. Delays can cause harm, as treatable conditions worsen.
Looking beyond early childhood, Professor Brown said population-level genetic screening would “start to pick out people who are in [higher] risk’ of common diseases. This would help transform the NHS from focusing largely on helping the sick get better, to looking more at keeping people healthy for as long as possible.
Dr. Richard Scott, who heads the Newborn Genomes Program, said they did not want to rush the process and that five years was the minimum timeframe for possible implementation. They were taking a “precautionary approach,” he said.
Just under 700,000 babies are born in Britain each year, some 600,000 of them in England, so sequencing the genome of every newborn would be a huge investment. But Professor Brown argued that with a single day in hospital now costing £600 or more, and increasing pressure from an aging population, there is a pressing need to turn the NHS into a more preventative health service.