2007 Genethics essay competition
The storage and use of blood spot cards (“Guthrie” cards) in New
Zealand.
The Royal Society of New Zealand, The Bioethics Council, and the New
Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders, are proud to offer the fourth
annual New Zealand Genethics essay competition for
secondary school students.The 2007 event offers a unique opportunity
for students to contribute directly to the development of important
public policy for New Zealand.This competition will run parallel to a
public consultation being conducted by the Ministry of Health’s
National Screening Unit and its Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme
Advisory Group. The public consultation will assist to inform policy
relating to consent for the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme
and the storage and use of the blood spot cards and information
contained in them.The National Screening Unit also invite individuals
to submit a response to the on-line questionnaire through the Ministry
of Health website:
www.moh.govt.nz.
Further information on the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme can
also be found at www.moh.govt.nz/newbornscreening.Prizes offered by
NZORD are $600 for the winner, $300 for second and $100 each for the
next three place getters.Finalists will be flown to the Sky City
convention centre in July, courtesy of sponsorship funds provided by
the Bioethics Council of New Zealand, to present their arguments at a
special session at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Human Genetics
Society of Australasia. Prize winners will be selected by a judging
panel at the event.Note: A condition of entry into this competition is
that you agree to your essay being forwarded on to the National
Screening Unit at the completion of the competition as part of the
public consultation process. Such submissions may be subject to release
under the Official Information Act. If you wish your name to be
withheld from your essay if it is requested under that Act, you will
need to state this on the entry sheet for your essay. Entries need to
be sent to Debbie Woodhall, Royal Society of New Zealand, PO Box 598,
Wellington by 5.00pm on the 5th June 2007
Essay topic
The storage and use of blood spot cards (commonly called “Guthrie”
cards) in New Zealand. What is your view on an appropriate public
policy on storage time of these cards, on who can gain access to them,
and for what purposes?Prepare an essay of 1500 words discussing the
Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme, considering the ethical issues
associated with storage and use of the cards, and giving advice to the
National Screening Unit on public policy that should be implemented to
manage the interests of screening participants and the interests
of society.
References:
You might find some of these web sites useful:
Glossary:
A good glossary
of terms can be found on the website of the UK Newborn screening
Programme
