Pros And Cons Of At Home Genetic Testing

Over the past 30 years, genetic testing has been crucial in the legal aspect, for example, in forensics and paternity, in determining a person’s ancestry, as well as in the field of health care, such as recognizing a person’s susceptibility to certain diseases. Genetic testing has had a significant impact on the world, and it has also had a great influence on the invention of DTC kits. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits are kits which are mailed to your home that contain an empty test tube and require a sample of your DNA. After collecting your DNA and placing it into the kit, you mail your DNA sample to the laboratory. After the laboratory processes the sample and tests it, you get emailed the results. There has been much controversy over whether traditional genetic tests, which are done through healthcare providers or DTC kits are better, and personally, I am against at home genetic testing.

Instead of driving to your healthcare provider, which may be half an hour or more away and rearranging your plans in order to fit the appointment into your schedule, you can simply take your DNA sample whenever it is most convenient for you. You may take it early in the morning or late at night; it does not matter when you obtain your sample because you are taking it by yourself in the comfort of your own home. On a similar note, privacy is a major advantage as well. By taking the sample in your own home, no one besides you and the company, which keeps the results confidential, will know. In addition, most at home genetic test kits are very affordable. 23andme, which is one of the many well-known DTC genetic testing websites, sells kits for $199. Many other websites sell kits priced in the same range, which is extremely favorable to most