Is Your DNA Safe? You Might be (un)Pleasantly Surprised by the Answer

Think about the last time you graciously donated your blood results to help educational and medical purposes and/or advances. Felt good about it right? You felt that they were testing your blood (DNA) anyways and it wasn’t much use to you thereafter. So, why not put it to good use. That of course sounds like the noble thing to do. And, it should be.

However, have you really considered what happens with your results? What databank you may be entered into or what really happens to the research you were inclined to help with?

Most people give without thinking twice we call that humanity. This of course is without considering what the consequences of such actions would be. For example, you donate your DNA to help with medical advancements that can help treat, manage or cure diseases that cost patients upwards of a million dollars. What happens if you end up being someone who needs this same treatment? The answer is simple – nothing. You pay the same amount anyone else would. So sure, it is one thing to give without any need (want) for compensation however, did you consider you wouldn’t own the samples you donated in case you needed them at a later date?

Additionally, when you are doing this act of kindness, did you read the terms and conditions associated? It is a safe assumption that a man recently arrested in California for murder did not. Although yes, it is brilliant that accused murderers can be taken off the street with this stored DNA, but are we considering the whole picture when we give without clause?

Timicoin/TimiHealth is a secure blockchain company that is on a mission to help you maintain ownership of your DNA.

With their technology, it is suggested you have the ability to determine who has access to it and who can use or not use it for research purposes. The platform is designed to help you licence your results or retain them for personal use. Or, protected use.

The ideology is that with the advances we anticipate seeing in the medical and technological industries that people have open access and ownership of their DNA. Is this a matter of being able to control something of your own? In the simplest terms, yes.

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