The Council for Responsible Genetics is pleased that the University of California, Berkeley has decided to
follow the law in the administration of their controversial “Bring Your Genes to Cal” freshman genetic
testing program and not improperly use an unaccredited lab to process DNA samples. The Council for
Responsible Genetics has been raising the issue of improper lab certification with the University and the
Department of Public Health for some time. It is outrageous that the intervention of the Department of Public
Health was required before the University would address an issue that they have been aware about for some
time, particularly when the best interests of their students were at stake. We believe this program change is
indicative of the lack of sufficient consideration and thought used to design the "Bring Your Genes to Cal"
program in the first place and the complete lack of appreciation for the serious issues raised about the program
since it was publicly announced. We further believe this is indicative of the lack of sufficient oversight
on behalf of the Berkeley Chancellor and the Regents of the University of California system. There are still
many very serious issues remaining about the "Bring Your Genes to Cal" program including a lack of sufficient
informed consent before students chose to participate in this program and a lack of sufficient privacy
protections in place for both the actual DNA samples as well as the data derived from them. “The students and
taxpayers deserve to have their questions about this controversial program answered by University of
California, Berkeley officials,” said CRG President Jeremy Gruber. " The Council for Responsible Genetics
again calls upon the University of California, Berkeley to delay this program until they can sufficiently
demonstrate that the best interest of the students are protected."
