At Liverpool Women’s Hospital we are one of a number of organisations that is a part of The North West Coast Genomic Medicine Centre (NWC GMC), working together as part of the 100,000 Genome Project.
The NWC GMC has been set up to help gain a better understanding of the genetic causes of cancer and rare diseases and aims to sequence 100,000 complete sets of DNA from around 8,000 NHS patients.
We are fully supportive of Prof Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England and her ‘genomic dream’ to make DNA tests routine within the next 5 years. Angela Douglas, Scientific Director at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, who also heads up the North West Coast NHS Genomic Medicine Centre said “I was delighted to see the report from Dame Sally and fully support the importance of making DNA tests routine for all patients. As a dedicated centre carrying out sequencing on rare diseases and cancer we understand the importance this has to patients and their families. This new way of testing will allow us to understand the biology that underpins our patients disorders so that we can better target their therapy and personalise their treatment.”
The 100,000 genome project not only allows professionals to gain more of an understanding of how DNA affects the sequencing of diseases but also gives patients vital information to not only benefit them but also their families.
Participants who are eligible to take part in the 100,000 Genome Project will have at least one of the listed conditions, which can be viewed here. People who meet this criteria may be contacted by the NWC GMC recruitment nurses to discuss if they would be interested in finding out more about the project.
Individuals with a family history of one or more of these conditions listed may also wish to contact their GP or clinician to ask if they may also be eligible to participate in the project.
To find out more and how you can take part visit The North West Coast Genomic Medicine Centre (NWC GMC) website.