For all these reasons, hemoglobin S, susceptibility to breast cancer, blood type, skin color, and other manifestations of allelic variation do not define race in a biologically valid manner. This is not to deny that the frequencies of certain allelic variants or mutant genes among people who share a geographic origin or culture have medical value. Obviously, a screening program to detect sickle hemoglobin should focus on populations of African descent, and screening for Tay-Sachs disease in New York should be confined to Ashkenazi Jews. And instead of using polymorphisms to seek racial distinctions, we can spark real progress in clinical research by using genetic variations to track down clinically relevant alleles and pathogenic mutations. In another editorial in this issue of the Journal, Wood discusses allelic variations that may influence drug metabolism and the responses to treatment with certain drugs.
Education is also essential.
Instruction in medical genetics should emphasize the fallacy of race as a scientific concept and the dangers inherent in practicing race-based medicine. Physicians everywhere must teach the immorality of racial discrimination in clinical practice. As for medical research, any investigation that entails so-called racial distinctions, whether a clinical trial or a laboratory study, should begin with a plausible, clearly defined, and testable hypothesis. Before studying a possible relation between skin color and sodium excretion, for instance, investigators should have a credible reason for believing that such a link could exist and a plan for finding the relevant genetic network. Research to root out social injustice in medical practice needs continued support, but tax-supported trolling of data bases to find racial distinctions in human biology must end.