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Rob Stein needs your positive experiences of personal genomics

By dgmacarthur on July 12, 2010.

I've just been forwarded an email that was originally sent to the National Society of Genetic Counsellors email list on behalf of a reporter with the Washington Post:

Dear NSGC Members,

Washington Post reporter Rob Stein has interviewed NSGC President Liz Kearney on the subject of regulation of genetic testing. Rob would also like to interview patients who have experienced DTC testing. Rob is particularly interested in speaking with patients in the D.C. area who have had a bad experience with DTC testing or who sought the help of a genetic counselor to order the correct test and/or interpret the results. However, he is interested in speaking with any patient who has undergone DTC testing.

If you have patients that would be willing to talk with Rob, please have them contact him directly at the phone number or email below. Rob needs to complete his interviews by Tuesday, July 13.

Rob Stein
The Washington Post
202-334-7338 phone
steinr@washpost.com

(My emphasis in bold.)

The bolded section gives you a hint of the angle that Stein might be interested in taking with this piece - I'm hopeful this won't be yet another all-out attack piece on personal genomics, but it looks like it may focus on the negatives. (For the record, Stein contacted me by email late last week to ask for my views on FDA regulation of the industry, but we didn't discuss the overall focus of his article.)
I think it's important to ensure that Stein has a balanced view of the experiences of people with personal genomics - so if you have a positive story about your own experience with the industry, or feel strongly about your right to direct access to your own genome, feel free to pass your views on to the email address above.
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