Scientists working at the Finnish Bio Bank Cooperative. Photo Credit finbb.fi
Finland has been warned about not oversharing genetic data.
According to their security and intelligence services SUPO, they might be giving too much away when it comes to their country’s biodata.
They have cautioned that too much information shared could expose the country to major problems. In a worst case scenario, a genetically targeted infectious disease could be created using the data being willingly shared by the Finnish.
The aim of sharing data is to encourage research
Finland aims to be a hub of genetic and medical research; it is one of multiple countries on the European continent who take part in the European Union initiative 1+ Million Genomes.
The Finnish ministry of social affairs and health stated “The knowledge and new research methods generated in genomics will create opportunities for understanding human health, for investigating why diseases develop and for finding ways to prevent them and target treatment.” They went on to say that it would benefit their people because “In future…the treatment of diseases will be increasingly planned using information from individuals’ genomic data.”
One research group in Finland that uses genetic data to explore curing diseases is Finn Gen. A research project from Helsinki University, they describe themselves as a “project in genomics and personalized medicine.” And a “large public-private partnership that has collected and analysed genome and health data from 500,000 Finnish biobank donors to understand the genetic basis of diseases.” They have collated genome and health data from 10% of the Finnish population.
An erosion of trust
Although Finnish law allows for the use of health statistics and genetic data in scientific research, experts warn that shouldn’t come at the cost of individuals’ privacy or security.
An official of the Ministry of Social affairs and Health, Tuula Helander, has said that concerns are not being handled, she says that laws protecting the biodata slow down research but that protecting privacy is also important so that research can continue: “If public trust were to erode, using vital health and genomic data for research would no longer be feasible.” There are new reforms being proposed to facilitate global health research whilst keeping that data secure.
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