President George W. Bush recently signed the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) into law. The new law stops employers and insurance companies from collecting genetic information or using such data for hiring, firing or setting insurance premiums.

GINA is especially important to polycystic kidney disease (PKD) patients. PKD is one of the most common genetic diseases in which fluid-filled cysts grow throughout the kidneys and cause the kidneys to fail. Dialysis or transplantation are the only treatment options.
 
For more information about PKD, visit the AAKP Library.To learn more about genetic discrimintaion visit the PKD Foundation Web site. 

This article originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of AAKP Public Policy Briefing.