A pragmatic consideration of ethical issues relating to personal genomics.

At 23andMe, we welcome opportunities to discuss ways in which we can balance the need to educate and protect consumers with our intertwined missions: giving people access to their own personal genetic information (PGI), and creating a novel, participant-driven research model. As the president of the American College of Medical Genetics recently noted, “the train has left the station,” no matter one’s view on direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing (Toner 2009). Our missions compel us to treat implications of personal access to genomic data in a highly nuanced manner, avoiding black and white idealizations. Below we list our perspectives on several issues raised in these pages, paired with positions we have taken in the interest of pragmatism.