PUTTING PATTERNS OF YOUR GENES ON ICE
October 9-10, 1999

Patricia Giller's suspicion was barely aroused when her mother, a lifetime non-smoker, fell victim to lung cancer five years ago. It was when her sister and two cousins also developed cancer that she began to worry her family was predisposed to the disease.

No vaccination yet exists to guard Giller against the possibility of developing tumours, but his 51-year-old mother believes she has moved to protect her children and grandchildren.

She recently paid a company $250 to collect and store a sample of her DNA. The frozen material may one day be called on to determine a genetic pattern of the disease in her family, information that could lead to early, or even preventative, treatment.

"I realized it's obviously there in our background," Giller said. "There's nothing we can do about it, but we can let future generations know."

The company now holding Giller's DNA in a lab at the University of North Texas is called GeneLink. Since its founding five years ago, it has amassed about 2,000 samples from other clients, which may be used to alert their offspring to their propensities for thousands of maladies with hereditary components, including heart disease and certain cancers.

The company has arrived at a propitious moment. In the next two years, scientists are expected to complete an ambitious project to map the human genome. Meanwhile, discoveries continue to crop up suggesting hereditary links between human conditions from Alzheimer's to colour blindness.

"It's like health insurance," John DePhillipo, company chairman, says of GeneLink's service. "You hope you never have to use it, but at least you know you have it."

The process of collecting DNA is not as invasive as one might imagine. In fact, it only requires brushing a cotton swab inside the mouth. Rent is also reasonable. GeneLink charges $250 to house the material, with a $50 renewal fee after 25 years.

Availability of the service may soon be widespread. DePhillipo is working with funeral directors to add a quick DNA collection to their menu of embalming services.

Of course, until technology improves, the short-term return of the GeneLink investment may be minimal. Tests to screen DNA for disease are still in their infancy. And even when they are developed, it may be that clients learn they are likely to contract a withering disease for which there is no known cure.

But that is something Patricia Giller is willing to live with. "We have grandchildren, and I wanted to make sure we pass on to them more than just the color of their eyes or of their skin," she says. "We're all carrying something."

SOURCE: Financial Times
By Joshua Chaffin