ETHICAL ISSUES raised by the landmark announcement of the complete mapping of the human genome are at the forefront of the minds of local medical practitioners even as they acknowledge the possibilities created for medical science and disease treatment.Dr. Lucien Jones, a former president of Medical Association of Jamaica, was concerned about the further rift that might be created in the health status of people in poor developing countries when compared to those in developed countries.
"They might find relatively cheap ways to reproduce the technology on a mass basis but right now it is experimental and what does it mean for countries like ours, that will not be able to access the care that people need. This might be compared to the situation with HIV/AID where you have millions of people in Africa who cannot get drugs for HIV whereas in America it is relatively inexpensive and in some cases free and so they are enjoying a better quality of life," he said.
British and American scientists announced on Monday that they had completed the working map of the human genome. Scientists had isolated for some time specific genes that were linked to disease such as breast cancer and diabetes but the human genome is a composite of all the genes in the human body. Genes are actually tiny, invisible packets of biochemical information (DNA).
Individuals inherit thousands of genes from their parents, which are arranged on 46 chromosomes. These genes control body chemistry, and such things as hair and eye colour.
Policy-makers, Dr. Jones said, must also begin to contemplate and address ethical and legal issues that will arise in terms of employers' discrimination against employees, or insurance companies deciding that they will not insure certain people based on their genome mapping.
Dr. Winston Davidson said that the major ethical issues would be raised in terms of who owns the intellectual property rights when a gene is spliced for instance, but several opportunities will be created for developing countries.
"Genetic engineering will transform our lives it will be quicker, cheaper and better in the long run. Cheaper mainly because of the efficiencies of gene manipulation. Ethical issues will arise but they will have to be addressed at every step of the implementation of the vision, " he said.
This discovery, he continued, would create a new situation in the evolution of mankind which will require greater understanding of the biodiversity and interdependence of all living species.
By Eulalee Thompson
Staff Reporter
