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UC Berkeley's controversial plan to test incoming freshman's DNA will no longer give provide individual students with their results, but will otherwise continue as planned after a decision Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health.
The campus announced its decision to alter the plan Thursday after the department said the campus should have gotten a physician's approval before collecting samples and must use federal and state approved labs for the testing, arguing that students could use the results to make health decisions.
As part of the campus College of Letters and Science annual "On the Same Page" program, incoming students were sent DNA collection kits, allowing them to submit anonymous samples for testing with the understanding that they would later receive their personal test results confidentially. With the campus decision, the data collected will now only be presented in an aggregated, statistical form and samples will be destroyed after analysis.
Federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and the California Business and Professions Code mandate that medical diagnostic testing must be performed in approved labs in order to ensure results given...
The campus announced its decision to alter the plan Thursday after the department said the campus should have gotten a physician's approval before collecting samples and must use federal and state approved labs for the testing, arguing that students could use the results to make health decisions.
As part of the campus College of Letters and Science annual "On the Same Page" program, incoming students were sent DNA collection kits, allowing them to submit anonymous samples for testing with the understanding that they would later receive their personal test results confidentially. With the campus decision, the data collected will now only be presented in an aggregated, statistical form and samples will be destroyed after analysis.
Federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and the California Business and Professions Code mandate that medical diagnostic testing must be performed in approved labs in order to ensure results given...