Estonia to enable 100,000 residents to find out their genetic risks

TALLINN - Estonia is to allocate five million euros for a project of the Social Ministry, the National Institute for Health Development and the University of Tartu, in the framework of which the genetic data of 100,000 people would be collected and integrated as part of everyday medicine in order to give people feedback about personal genetic risks.

The aim of the project is to kickstart personal medicine development in Estonia, the Ministry of Social Affairs said.

The project includes collecting gene samples from 100,000 people and drawing up individual gene charts based on that. The goal of the project is to find a way to tie gene data to the healthcare information system so that a doctor can take into account a person's personal gene information when assessing possible health risks.

A cooperation agreement is to be signed in January 2018 and the project is to be carried out in accordance with the Human Genes Research Act.