From Genetic Counselling, Ethics, Nursing, Society

A mail-order DNA test revealed I had a half-brother I knew nothing about

Anna was quoted in this Telegraph article from their Lifestyle section on ethical grey areas around the support offered by private direct to consumer genetic testing companies to consumer

A mail-order DNA test revealed I had a half-brother I knew nothing about

26th January 2019

Excerpt from article:

“‘Almost everyone who takes our AncestryDNA test finds something surprising and for most customers it’s something exciting and enriching,’ is the company’s stock response. Where discoveries are ‘sensitive’, customers are referred to ‘a group of highly experienced representatives in Member Services’. 23andMe says similar.

That doesn’t cut it, says Anna Middleton, head of society and ethics research at the Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge. ‘These tests can reveal profound stuff, changing people’s sense of who they thought they were. You need more than a customer service rep to deal with that.’”

Related Link:

Citation:

Cocker R (2019) Quotes from Anna Middleton. ‘A mail-order DNA test revealed I had a half-brother I knew nothing about.’ The Telegraph. 26 January. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/mail-order-dna-test-revealed-had-half-brother-knew-nothing/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_em [Accessed: 28 January 2019]