A medical center in Ho Chi Minh City has signed a contract with a French laboratory to provide DNA testing of saliva, a center representative said on Monday.
HCMC Medic Medical Center Director Phan Thanh Hai said with a sample of saliva, the Institute of Genetics Nantes Atlantique (IGNA) could diagnose if a person was at risk of developing a hereditary disease.
French doctors can detect as many as 25 diseases, including cancer, glaucoma and Beta Thalassemia, a kind of blood disease, Hai said.
He said tests cost as little as US$100 to more than $1,000.
Clients can give a saliva sample at the Vietnamese center, which is then air-freighted to France for testing.
Results of the tests take a week to a month, Hai said.
The center also plans to cooperate with another French lab to provide blood tests for the liver condition cirrhosis. This kind of test will give results within a couple of minutes, according to Hai.
In Vietnam, cirrhosis is often diagnosed late through clinical symptoms and ultrasonic scans of livers.
The new tests are part of the center’s “global service” strategy to offer services making use of the internet and foreign partners, Hai said.
Source: Tuoi Tre