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In Your Genes

Tuesday, 13 Oct 09

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Would you want to know if you were carrying a gene that could kill you?

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Genetic testing may be able to give you the answer.

In Australia, we can now be tested for more than 400 different diseases including hereditary breast and bowel cancer and some forms of Alzheimers.

But some conditions like early onset Alzheimers and Huntingtons disease, there is no cure. Many Australians who potentially carry these genes choose not to be tested, because they can’t bear to know what awaits them.

But would you want to pass these diseases on to your children?

With IVF advances in the screening of embryos, couples can make sure they don’t pass on these genes.

But where do we draw the line?

Should we screen out all known genetic diseases or just those that dramatically affect lifespan and quality of life?

Join us as we talk to genetic experts, ethicists and families who’ve had to face some difficult decisions about how they live their lives and whether they have kids.

Meet the Guests

  • Julian Savulescu

    Australian born Professor Julian Savulescu is an ethicist with qualifications in medicine, bioethics and analytic philosophy. He is the Director of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford University in the UK. Julian has done research in the ethics of predictive genetic testing and prenatal testing.

  • Leslie Cannold

    Dr Leslie Cannold is a bio-ethicist and writer. She’s also an Honorary Fellow at the School of Philosophy, Anthropology, & Social Inquiry at Melbourne University. Leslie is a member of the ethics panel of the Infertility Treatment Authority and she’s the President of Reproductive Choice Australia, a national coalition of pro-choice individuals and organisations.

  • Melissa and Jason Gordon

    Melissa and her brother Jason Gordon share a family history of Spinocerebellar Ataxia or SCA disease.It’s a degenerative genetic condition affecting motor skills, and there’s no cure. Melissa and Jason’s father died as a result of the disease this year. Melissa found out she has the gene and has started showing symptoms, then Jason found out he doesn’t have the gene and is clear. Photo: The Age

  • Nikki Roberts and Andy Parrish

    When UK born Andy Parrish found out he had the gene for the deadly Huntington’s disease, he decided to travel the world while he could.  He only got as far as Australia before meeting Nikki Roberts and falling in love.  They got married then faced a decision about having children, and whether to risk passing on the Huntington’s gene to their kids.

  • Julie, Krystal and Val

    The three generations of women in this family have all had experience of breast cancer. Val was diagnosed with the disease at 44 years old and has since had both breasts removed.  Her daughter Julie went through the same thing at the age of 36. Then Julie’s daughter Krystal had a genetic test in her early 20’s, confirming that she carried the same BRCA 1 gene as her mother and grandmother. At 25 years old and with two young children, Krystal decided to have both her breasts removed before breast cancer had a chance to strike.

  • Greg Luck

    Software engineer Greg Luck read about online genetic tests in a magazine.  With a family history of heart disease and bowel cancer, he decided to send off a sample of his saliva to an overseas laboratory for analysis.  He found some of the results surprising and has continued to take a preventative approach to his health.

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