Cracking genetic codes -- Who needs the testing? (2)

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Cracking genetic codes -- Who needs the testing? (2)

(Global Times) 10:53, November 06, 2013

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A DNA testing kit provided for customers to extract saliva samples. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Genetic testing by order

Wang first heard about genetic testing in 2011 when her mother complained of weakening legs and clumsiness. Wang's family took her to a local hospital where doctors recommended genetic tests be carried out.

Concerned about the stress such tests would put on Wang's elderly mother, doctors suggested Wang herself undergo them because she carried the same necessary genes. Results of the tests revealed she carried spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), a hereditary neurological disease that progressively causes coordination to worsen and muscles to weaken.

At the time of her mother's hospitalization, Wang didn't show any symptoms of SCA. But when she started suffering from her falls, she returned to the hospital where doctors confirmed she had the degenerative disease.

"I believe in DNA testing. I know that it's a very accurate method of disease detection," Wang said.

Besides hospitals, some companies are also providing these services to help people have a better understanding of their bodies.

Hongtu Yuntian Technology Company began genetic testing in August last year. A few months later, it launched its service, dubbed 360 Gene, online.

Zhao Wei, the company's CEO, said customers can order a genetic test online and receive a testing kit in the mail. Packages vary in price, although a basic order costs 1,888 yuan ($310).

"A typical package includes a cotton swab, an introduction booklet and a tube. Customers first need to register online by entering the code on their tube before providing their sample," Zhao said.

After depositing a saliva sample in a tube, customers then mail it back to the company where a team of geneticists scrutinizes using a chip processed by a DNA decoding machine.

BGI, a Shenzhen-based nonprofit research institution, is another company that runs such tests. It provides support to scientists and contributes to biological research.

The company does a wide range of diagnostic tests, such genetic testing for deafness, the blood disorder thalassemia and personal genome sequencing and analysis, according to its website.