Faroese support genetic testing for hereditary diseases ahead of Health Authority proposal

A proposal is set to be made regarding genetic counseling services for prospective parents at risk of having a child with a hereditary disease. A group representing the Health Authority, the Hospital Organization, and the Ministry of Health will present recommendations to the Minister of Health on December 1st about how these services can be structured.

This morning, it was revealed that 89 percent of Faroese individuals of childbearing age believe that testing for five hereditary diseases—Sucla2, AGS, AROKS, JEB, TBCD—should be available in the Faroe Islands. This finding comes from a survey commissioned by the interest group Arvasjúkan to gauge public opinion on genetic testing for hereditary diseases. The survey was distributed to the Faroese earlier this year and is available on the website Arvasjukan.fo.

The Ethical Council is currently deliberating on the question of whether society should offer such testing to individuals.

A significant number of Faroese individuals are carriers of these five hereditary diseases, indicating that approximately one to two children are born each year in the Faroe Islands with one of these conditions.