Are we prepared in Poland to promote genetic testing?

Abstract

The extremely rapid development of modern techniques for analyzing the human genome, both in the field of scientific research and diagnostic applications, entails a variety of problems whose solution lags far behind our current technological capabilities. These problems appear in the ethical, social, legal or religious spheres and include such detailed issues as e.g. examination of children for diseases manifested in adulthood, accidental (secondary) results being a side effect of the analysis of the whole genome, the growing offer of tests directed directly to the recipient, patenting of genetic information, confidentiality of genetic data and their availability to third parties, availability of genetic counselling, etc. The legal regulation of these problems, the list of which is growing at an alarming rate, still remains in the sphere of declarations, and its shift to the sphere of real actions seems to be lagging further and further back in time. Do patients, laboratory diagnoses, doctors still have to be held hostage by the legislative impotence?