Ancestry Enters Home Health Screening with Two New DNA Tests
In contrast to 23andMe, its tests require a doctor’s approval
Ancestry is rolling out a new service to give customers insight into health risks they may not be aware of. The Utah-based genealogy company, which sells DNA kits that let customers trace their family trees, announced Tuesday that it will begin selling two genetic health tests, AncestryHealth Core and AncestryHealth Plus, which will allow people to learn about their predisposition to certain health conditions — and genetic traits they could pass on to future children — without visiting a doctor’s office.
Ancestry’s announcement comes amid mounting privacy and security concerns around consumer DNA testing, fueled by recent data breaches and increasing use of companies’ DNA databases by law enforcement. The company is also entering the health testing market at a time when consumer DNA testing has appeared to hit a lull and experts have raised concerns about the usefulness of the results for everyday consumers.
Ancestry first entered consumer genetic testing in 2012 with a product called AncestryDNA, which provides an “ethnicity estimate” and connects customers with relatives who are also AncestryDNA users. As of May, Ancestry has processed the DNA of more than 15 million people. Now it’s…
