Collecting DNA for Later Genetic Screening

Because new genetic advances provide prediction and prevention opportunities, a U.S. company has announced the collecting and storing of customers' DNA for genetic testing to prevent future disease. Using DNA mouth swab kits, cheek cells can be painlessly gathered and the samples stored for decades, says the company, HealthScreen America (Jacksonville, FL, USA).

Through retail locations and mobile units, HealthScreen will provide low-cost, advanced screening tests for the early detection of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes, lung cancer, prostate cancer. As new genetic tests become available for breast cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases, consumers can call in and ask that their stored DNA samples--as well as the stored DNA of their deceased relatives, if desired--be checked. HealthScreen already provides screening for hemochromatosis, a genetic illness.

The company has an agreement with GeneLink, Inc.(Margate, NJ, USA) to extract the DNA from cheek samples, place it in vials bar-coded for confidentiality and then sealed for shipment to the University of North Texas (Ft. Worth, USA), where the DNA will be placed in cold storage at minus 200 C. GeneLink notes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its DNA collection kit.

"Preventive screenings and genetic testing eliminate troubling uncertainties for people in high-risk families, delivering an ultimate sense of relief and the power to make educated decisions about their future,” said Christopher Fey, chairman and CEO of HealthScreen America.



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