With all the genealogy information and medical information stored on computers, including in various studies, it should be possible to merge it and come up with concrete answers to certain medical conditions, right?
It's an interesting concept, says John F. Carlquist, co-director of LDS Hospital's Cardiovascular Research Program, but it's not really practical. There are gaps in the data. And bad information. Some of the records are incomplete. Different people store data in their own ways and some of them are better at it than others.
LDS Hospital researchers have been taking blood samples and genealogical information from patients who come through the heart cath lab. They also have genealogical records to one day link family members and their heart disease. One of the plans for this Intermountain Genealogical Registry is to check the blood samples for genetic variants that could help the scientists unravel the mysteries of heart disease and genetics.
You can read more about this interesting use of genealogy in Lois M. Collins' article in the Deseret News at http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660202380,00.html.
