Genetics and Ethical Issues

In recent years the great advances in the field of medical genetics for diagnosis and treatment of diseases has provided a tremendous opportunities and at the same time many challenges in the social and ethical realms. The privacy issue in Medical Genetics is among the very important topics being discussed in the field of medicine throughout the world due to its wide impacts on patients and family members. The centralization of health information and computerization of access to medical information is of main concern to patients in future use of genetic information. Such information may be the total genetic information available about the individual and his/her family. Also complex ethical issues may arise due to certain knowledge derived from genetic diagnostic tests performed on individuals, family members and/or embryos. Currently, the most important issue in the field of ethics and genetics is the privacy issue related to genetic information about individuals and how to collect and safeguard that information from misuse by unauthorized individuals, organizations and governments throughout the world. In this article the main topics and concerns related to the privacy issue in medical genetics is discussed.