FDA Gives Thumbs Up To Designer Babies

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally given 23&Me (23M) their approval to market their designer baby kit to be used to determine genetic markers for Bloom Syndrome (BS), a condition associated with “short stature, sun sensitivity, and increased cancer risk.” 23M is a genetics corporation owned by Anne Wojcicki, estranged wife of Google founder Sergey Brin, and funded by Google and Google Ventures with an initial investment of $161 million. Alberto Gutierrez, director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health (IVDRH) at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) explained: “The FDA believes that in many circumstances it is not necessary for consumers to go through a licensed practitioner to have direct access to their personal genetic information. [This] authorization and accompanying classification, along with FDA’s intent to exempt these devices from FDA premarket review, supports innovation and will ultimately benefit consumers. These tests have the potential to provide people with information about possible mutations in their genes that could be passed on to their children.”
Credit to Skywatch.com