The contract does not even appear in “DIASYEIA”. In a shock decision, Health Minister Adonis Georgiades gives the DNA of Greece’s newborn children to private individuals in the USA , without informing the parents or obtaining their consent. With this agreement, it destroys any notion of protecting the most sensitive personal data of millions of Greeks.
The agreement was signed by Adonis Georgiades with two American companies, which will be given the DNA of newborn Greeks until 2029, to process it as they wish!
It may seem like a science fiction or extreme conspiracy scenario, but unfortunately it is not. This is not a remake of Gattaca-type films but a morbid present-day reality. Let’s take things from the beginning.
All newborns born in Greece have been universally screened for 50 years by the Institute of Child Health (ICH) for various genetic diseases. This screening is done after taking 5 drops of blood and is carried out in a biochemical way – in short, the blood is chemically analysed to detect signs of genetic abnormalities.
In recent years, however, in the USA and in private clinics in Europe, so-called genetic testing has also begun to be used, where – if the parents wish – a blood sample is taken and the child’s DNA is mapped in order to detect possible genetic mutations. This is called whole genome analysis.
In this context, Adonis Georgiades signed a confidential(!) “Programme Contract” on 17 May 2024 with the companies RealGenix and Beginnings.
RealGenix is a subsidiary of the American genetic data giant PlumcareRWE. While Beginnings was founded by the clinical geneticist Mr. Petros Tsipouros and Mr. Matthew Jawala Aujla.
The contract highlights the aim of introducing universal screening of the whole genome of newborns in Greece by 2029(!) “through the application of next generation sequencing and DNA analysis technologies”.
This “project”, called First Steps, will be implemented in two phases (01 Jan 2025 – 31 March2026 and 01 April 2026 – 31 March 2029), with an expected participation of 100,000 newborns!
In fact, according to the contract, Beginnings has already received the DNA of 20,000 newborns born between January and March 2025! First Steps will be part of the global ICoNS project that aims to collect the DNA of one million newborns worldwide. In Greece, approximately 75,000 children are born each year.
The contract explicitly states that the research results from the sequencing of the newborns’ genome will belong to one of the two companies: ‘The Ministry of Health is aware that these research results will become the property of RealGenix’.
RealGenix will even cover the cost of the project in full, which will cost 50 million euros, since access and management as it wishes of the DNA of hundreds of thousands of Greeks is much more valuable.
Most outrageous of all, however, is that the delivery of the DNA of newborns will be done without the knowledge or consent of the parents, as three of the five drops of blood collected by the Child Health Institute (CHI) from all babies in the country will be handed over to the American companies.
In fact, this contract is NOT available in the public domain, as Article 10, entitled “Confidentiality Clause”, provides, among other things, that “all work under this Programme Agreement and any findings are classified as confidential and as such shall be handled in principle by the parties involved”.
As we understand it, this move puts at risk the most sensitive personal data, not only of the 100,000 newborns who will be “factored in” for life, but also of their relatives and their future offspring who will have related DNA.
There has already been a storm of reaction at the Institute of Child Health, with its scientific board unanimously and explicitly stating “the ethical and moral problems raised by the complicity in such a massive genomic screening of the genome of newborns”.
In fact, as the Institute of Child Health (ICH) noted, this technique is still at an experimental stage and its effectiveness is not known.
Adonis Georgiades was forced to respond under the weight of the revelations that he would “take into account” the opposition of the CYP in the implementation of the program , which he said would be beneficial to public health.
In short, the program is proceeding normally and it is unknown how many thousands of Greek children have lost forever their most sensitive personal data and what the consequences will be in the future, since we recall that the contract came into force on 1.1.2025 and provides for the sending to American companies of 20,000 DNA samples by March 2025.
For example, Greek children may become the first “guinea pigs” for DNA-based “smart policing” programmes.
Mr. Georgiades should therefore answer immediately:
- How many DNA samples of newborns have been delivered so far to the two companies?
- Why, if the project is beneficial to public health, is it claimed that the contract was marked ‘secret’?
- Why are parents not asked if they consent if their children’s DNA is handed over to two companies in the US?
The Government should take a position on this issue to explain whether they agree with these moves by their Minister.
The entire secret contract signed between Georgiades – RealGenix and Beginnings here.
Original Source: Pro News, 16 April 2025
