Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Nov 14:13:358.
doi: 10.1186/s12967-015-0720-9.

Genetic testing and genomic analysis: a debate on ethical, social and legal issues in the Arab world with a focus on Qatar

Hatem El Shanti  1 , Lotfi Chouchane  2 , Ramin Badii  3 , Imed Eddine Gallouzi  4 , Paolo Gasparini  5
Affiliations
Review

Genetic testing and genomic analysis: a debate on ethical, social and legal issues in the Arab world with a focus on Qatar

Hatem El Shanti et al. J Transl Med. .

Abstract

In 2013 both Saudi Arabia and Qatar launched genome projects with the aim of providing information for better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and, ultimately to realize personalized medicine by sequencing hundred thousands samples. These population based genome activities raise a series of relevant ethical, legal and social issues general, related to the specific population structure as well as to the Islamic perspective on genomic analysis and genetic testing. To contribute to the debate, the Authors after reviewing the existing literature and taking advantage of their professional experience in the field and in the geographic area, discuss and provide their opinions. In particular, the Authors focus on the impact of consanguinity on population structure and disease frequency in the Arab world, on genetic testing and genomic analysis (i.e. technical aspects, impact, etc.) and on their regulations. A comparison between the Islamic perspective and the ethical, social and legal issues raised in other population contexts is also carried. In conclusion, this opinion article with an up-to-date contribution to the discussion on the relevance and impact of genomic analysis and genetic testing in the Arab world, might help in producing specific national guidelines on genetic testing and genomic analysis and help accelerate the implementation and roll out of genome projects in Muslim countries and more specifically in Qatar, and other countries of the Gulf.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Global total consanguinity rates (extracted from [4])
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Davison R. Where is the Middle East? In: Foreign Affairs; 1960. p. 665–75.
    1. Teebi AS, Teebi SA. Genetic diversity among the Arabs. Community Genet. 2005;8(1):21–26. doi: 10.1159/000083333. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Owain M, Al-Zaidan H, Al-Hassnan Z. Map of autosomal recessive genetic disorders in Saudi Arabia: concepts and future directions. Am J Med Genet A. 2012;158A(10):2629–2640. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.35551. - DOI - PubMed
    1. In: Bittles A, editor. Consanguineous marriages in Arab societies. Consang Retrieved; 2015.
    1. Bittles A. Consanguinity and its relevance to clinical genetics. Clin Genet. 2001;60(2):89–98. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-0004.2001.600201.x. - DOI - PubMed