Personal Genomes

Taneri

WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT PERSONAL GENOMES? A SURVEY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS ELSI OF PERSONAL GENOMES

Halim A. Cavus, Biran Mertan, Lori Miller and Bahar Taneri Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus. The Personal Genome Project is one of the most interesting recent developments in the field of genomic sciences. This project is certain to bring several benefits to the society such as facilitating rapid advancement in different fields of biomedical sciences. Alongside of its various advantages, this particular progress in the field brings a lot of challenges for the society. With the Personal Genomes numerous ethical, legal and social issues (E !"# are inevitable to arise. We believe that public opinion and opinions of certain groups of the society such as biomedical scientists, healthcare professionals, educators in sciences and medicine, and policy ma$ers are of importance in further development, application and regulation of Personal Genomes. Here, we introduce a survey designed to assess the attitudes towards Personal Genomes. The survey is composed of two main parts. The first part measures the knowledge and awareness levels of participants on Personal Genomes, since these are important in forming an opinion, and the second part assesses their attitudes. Particularly, the survey assesses the attitudes towards the ELSI of personal genomes and towards the possible near future implications of these genomic sequences. The survey is comprehensive and includes detailed questions targeting the following issues relevant to Personal Genomes; availability of personal genome sequencing, ownership of personal genomic data, access to personal genomic data, and use of personal genomic data by various institutions and by individuals. The survey is developed in English and its initial validity and reliability are established. Here, we discuss the details of our survey and the results of its very first application to a group of undergraduate students.