Briton applies to patent her own genes
Reuters World Report
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LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - A 31-year-old British woman has
applied to patent herself so she can protect herself from
"genetic exploitation," the Express tabloid said on Saturday.
Donna MacLean, a casino waitress from Bristol in southwest
England, told the newspaper: "In my application I stated that I
was novel and useful and that my genetic make-up could be used
to profit medical research."
A spokesman at the Patent Office in Newport, Gwent, told the
Express: "I can confirm we have received a patent application
from Donna, entitled Myself."
MacLean said: "It has taken 31 years of hard labour to
invent myself. "It may sound odd, but I want to make sure I can
protect myself from unauthorised exploitation, genetic or
otherwise."
Scientists around the world are in a race to decode human
genes so that they can find cures for diseases such as cancer.
"There is a kind of greedy, unpleasant atmosphere around
the mapping of the human at the moment," MacLean said. "I want
to have sole control of my own genetic material."