Comments on: ASHG Speakers: People Want Their Genetic Data http://spittoon.23andme.com/2008/11/13/ashg-speakers-people-want-their-genetic-data/ A receptacle for genetic knowledge. Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:51:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Jeff Monaghan http://spittoon.23andme.com/2008/11/13/ashg-speakers-people-want-their-genetic-data/comment-page-1/#comment-1017 Jeff Monaghan Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000 http://spittoon.23andme.com/?p=1927#comment-1017 Erin, Thanks for the interesting post. I thought I would add an anecdote that reinforces the idea that consumers may not be ready for the information their genetic profile divulges. I was recently speaking to a genetic counselor in San Francisco who was young very bright. She did a great job of providing me with the information I needed and took the time to explain anything I didn't understand. At the end of our meeting I mentioned 23andMe thinking I might get a few brownie points but instead got a surprising response. First off, she was unaware of 23andMe's existence which was somewhat surprising. But after I explained to her what 23andMe's service was, she became very concerned. She even made the statement that its probably better for someone not to know if they have an increased genetic risk to contract breast cancer. I was left speechless and was able to quickly surmise the huge paradigm shift a service like 23andMe is creating. Thanks again for the post, I look forward to reading more. Jeff Erin,
Thanks for the interesting post. I thought I would add an anecdote that reinforces the idea that consumers may not be ready for the information their genetic profile divulges.

I was recently speaking to a genetic counselor in San Francisco who was young very bright. She did a great job of providing me with the information I needed and took the time to explain anything I didn’t understand. At the end of our meeting I mentioned 23andMe thinking I might get a few brownie points but instead got a surprising response.

First off, she was unaware of 23andMe’s existence which was somewhat surprising. But after I explained to her what 23andMe’s service was, she became very concerned. She even made the statement that its probably better for someone not to know if they have an increased genetic risk to contract breast cancer. I was left speechless and was able to quickly surmise the huge paradigm shift a service like 23andMe is creating.

Thanks again for the post, I look forward to reading more.

Jeff

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