To the Editor: Ms Gollust and colleagues1 provide evidence that direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic information can mislead consumers and leave them susceptible to manipulation.
Direct-to-consumer advertising, however, has proven to be effective in selected settings, and a blanket proscription of this potentially useful tool is not warranted. For example, the Dor Yesharim program of premarital screening has functioned within the Jewish Orthodox community for more than 2 decades.2 This anonymous testing program was designed by community activists and has incorporated unique cultural factors that have enabled it to screen more than 100 000 participants since 1977. Following partner selection by their families, young men and women in their teens or early twenties are tested and assigned a number. Neither they, their prospective partners, nor the program staff are given specific results of the 8 most common disorders prevalent in this population; instead, the numbers are matched at a central location resulting in a recommendation of compatible or noncompatible early in the matching or dating process. The couple may then either seek genetic counseling or look for different partners.
Gollust et al incorrectly cite this program among their examples of undesirable direct-to-consumer advertising. In fact, this example demonstrates how a rationally designed and narrowly applied genetic testing program can be made effective through direct advertising. It argues against blanket disapproval of this potentially valuable method of reaching individuals and communities.2
Financial Disclosure: Dr Levin has received a grant from Genzyme Corporation.
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
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