Lab knew about faulty genetic tests

THE laboratory at the centre of fears over faulty genetic tests knew about the problem last August

The National Diagnostic Testing Centre also failed to upgrade its testing procedures when more thorough methods became available in 1999.

The centre, based at National University of Ireland, Galway, is seeking to contact 52 people most at risk of having received a false reading from the test which is used to detect Fragile X syndrome, responsible for intellectual disabilities. The external incident group, set up to handle the affair, was unable to offer a full explanation.

“We have been trying to put the pieces together,” said spokesman Professor Martin Cormican.

As many as 1,600 people may ultimately have to be retested at the country’s other test facility, the National Centre for Medical Genetics at Our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin, but the incident group is waiting for guidance from a British expert early next month. While testing has been suspended, there have been criticisms about the centre’s response to the problem.

In August it was told a woman who tested negative for Fragile X in Galway had retested positive in Crumlin, but university management was only informed in mid-October.

Prof Cormican could not explain the two-month delay or why the centre, which has been testing since 1994, did not adopt new methods introduced by Crumlin when it began testing five years later.