The 10th Oxbridge varsity medical ethics debate-should we fear the rise of direct-to-consumer genetic testing?

Abstract

In an increasingly data-driven age of medicine, do companies that offer genetic testing directly to patients represent an important part of personalising care, or a dangerous threat to privacy? Should we celebrate this new mechanism of patient involvement, or fear its implications? The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge addressed these issues in the 10th annual Medical Ethics Varsity Debate, through the motion: "This House Regrets the Rise of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing". This article summarises and extends key arguments made in the debate, exploring the impacts of such genetic testing on both the individual patient and broader society, with special consideration as to whether companies can ever truly guarantee anonymity of genetic data.