Genetic Testing: Should You Consider It?

📰 Why DNA and Genetics Testing is Back in Your Headlines Today

With the recent bankruptcy declaration for genetics and ancestry company 23andme, followed by its $305 million dollar purchase by original co- founder Anne Wojcicki through her nonprofit, TTAM Research Institute, DNA testing and genetics sites have been back in the headlines. Privacy concerns, ethical issues, medical advancement, and insights into personal wellness top the list of questions about genetic testing and its place in the consumer market.

Currently, there are two lanes of genetic-testing, the first being for medical purposes and diagnosis, and the second being direct-to-consumer services that scratch the itch for curiosity about ancestry, personal wellness, and proactive disease prevention. How curious are consumers about their own DNA? About $1.93 billion in curiosity in 2024, and that curiosity spend is projected to be $2.27 billion for 2025. The demand for at-home testing is forecasted to triple in the next seven years.¹ Clearly, the market for genetic testing will continue to boom.

Which is why when 23andme went on the bankruptcy block, questions about what happens to all that personalized genetics data, what it could mean for how traditional insurance companies look at genetics and the relationship to pre-existing conditions, and privacy all zoomed back to the top questions asked about sequencing our genomes. (To date in 2025, while a truthful and complete health history is required for consideration of membership, Altrua HealthShare does not require genetics testing, nor is a genetics profile part of the Advance Opinion for Eligibility as part of the membership experience. You can learn more about Advance Opinion for Eligibility here. If you are not currently a Member of Altrua HealthShare or have questions about your level of membership, contact a Member Services Representative at 1-888-244-3839).

Direct-to-consumer testing is usually under $200. Clinical testing is generally not shared in by health shares and is often not covered by traditional insurance, but the costs of such tests have dropped considerably over the last few years, making them more financially accessible for patients. 

🩺 What is Genetic Testing?

If you’re using an at-home genetics test such as 23andme or AncestryDNA kit , you collect saliva in a tube provided in your kit and send it via mail back to the company. The DNA in your saliva is then evaluated in the lab looking for variants in your DNA that point to symptoms you may experience, known factors for ancestral lines, and can often show possible connection to other individuals who use these services with whom you may share a familial level of DNA (it is you choice if you want to look for and connect with possible extended family members). 

Genetics testing done at your doctor’s office may be for the purpose of identifying possible health risk factors, chromosomal abnormalities that might impact future children, or if you and your spouse both carry rare recessive genes that could impact your offspring.²   Within medical testing, your provider may order single-gene tests, which look for a specific DNA variant, a multi-gene panel, which looks at a series of genes that, for example, can show a predisposition to a variety of cancers, or an exome/whole-gene sequencing test, which looks at thousands of your genes. At-home, direct-to-consumer tests generally are multigene panels, but are not as extensive as full exome panels.

🧪 Who Should Use Genetic Testing?

• From a medical perspective, talk with your medical provider if you have a personal or family history of cancer, especially breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, or colorectal cancers.³ They may recommend testing for preventative care and risk assessment.
• Some direct-to-consumer DNA tests do run panels for the BRCA1/2 genes in women. Presence of the BRCA variant can indicate a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Be sure to consult with your medical provider should a genetics test show this variant. It’s important to note that not all direct-to-consumer panels test for a wider variety of the BRCA variant. Your family history and further testing should be overseen by your provider if you have a family history of the BRCA gene.  Women whose history suggests BRCA1/2 risk should talk with a clinician about formal assessment and, if indicated, testing.⁴
• There are couples who may have concerns about inherited health issues as they plan for pregnancy. Some choose to have genetic testing to assess the risk to their future children. This is typically only recommended for couples who have known inherited disorders within their families of origin. Other couples choose to have prenatal genetics testing. There typically are no risks to the pregnancy with a prenatal blood test since it only involves a blood draw taken from the mother, but risks do go up if a couple chooses to then have an amniocentesis or CVS. It is also important to know that prenatal testing is not always accurate. ⁵

🗓️ What Genetic Testing Looks Like in the Near Future 

Earlier this year, Katherine Stueland, the CEO of GeneDx, a genetics testing company, revealed that the company is looking into providing genetic sequencing of all babies at birth. The company contends that this could help identify over 450 treatable conditions and would help catch those conditions early. Pilot studies indicate that 70% of parents surveyed would consent to such testing for their newborns.⁶

🙏 Where Do Genetic Testing and Your Faith Intersect? 

While genetic testing can be a powerful tool in the identification of disease and early prevention, there is also concern that testing could lead to life-altering decisions. Genetic testing, as with any medical testing, is not 100% accurate.  As the Psalmist writes, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14). Medical ethicists urge both stewardship of health, that is, using knowledge to prevent suffering, while also respecting human dignity, and caution against decisions that devalue life after unfavorable genetics testing.⁷

Your Next Steps

If you’re curious about your ancestry and are in the market for a genetics test that is direct-to-consumer, be sure to review a service’s documentation about where and how your data will be stored. Make sure you understand how your testing results will be used by the company. One of the concerns that arose during the 23andme bankruptcy case was what would happen to the genetic data of millions of customers. While genetics testing run through a medical lab under your doctor’s orders is protected in the United States by HIPAA, the rules surrounding your results through a direct-to-customer service are not covered by the same medical privacy laws. Evaluate your level of comfort with having your information stored at the various consumer genetics sites in the market. Some people are fine with the way these companies use their data, and others are not.⁸

Genetics testing can be a powerful window into both your current health and your future. Used wisely, it can help you evaluate steps you can take today based on your risk for disease. It can help you understand your ancestry more fully, and it can connect you to a community of people descended from the same ancestors. But genetic testing still has many questions surrounding it, including the ethics of how such information is used, decisions that arise from testing, and privacy issues. Do your homework, pray about your choices, and consult with your medical provider when it comes to your health.

¹ https://www.intelmarketresearch.com/life-sciences/1001/direct-to-consumer-genetic-testing-2025-2032-132#:~:text=Global%20Direct%2Dto%2Dconsumer%20Genetic%20Testing%20market%20was%20valued%20at%20USD%201.93%20billion%20in%202024.%20The%20market%20is%20projected%20to%20grow%20from%20USD%202.27%20billion%20in%202025%20to%20USD%206.08%20billion%20by%202032%2C%20exhibiting%20a%20CAGR%20of%2017.9%25%20during%20the%20forecast%20period.
² https://www.cdc.gov/genomics-and-health/counseling-testing/genetic-testing.html
³ https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/genetic-testing-fact-sheet>
⁴ https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/brca-related-cancer-risk-assessment-genetic-counseling-and-genetic-testing
⁵ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/24136-pregnancy-genetic-testing
⁶ https://apnews.com/article/genedx-whole-genome-sequencing-newborns-3e61e501f973057fa57f294b5b198d72
⁷  https://cmda.org/discussing-difficult-cases/
⁸  https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5338622/23andme-bankruptcy-genetic-data-privacy