Adonis Georgiadis for Neonatal Genetic Control: Nothing has started

Pilot program, for the overall examination of newborns in Greece for 500 rare genetic diseases is the First Steps program, which began in 2023 under the coordination of ERYY.

This was replied by Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis in the announcement of the SYRIZA – MS Press Office for the management of the DNA of newborn by private companies following the reactions of the medical community and opposition representatives regarding the granting of DNA neonates.

Mr Georgiadis said that the program began before he became a minister and after taking on his duties, his team « presented the first results of the pilot program » and proposed « the signing of a program contract, which we signed on June 12, 2024 ».

He added that the committee that has been set up has so far met once, has not come up with a plan, the collection of samples has not started, the final contract has not been signed, nothing has started.

If there is no agreement, the program simply does not start.

On the contrary, he said there was a disagreement with the Child Health Institute, while the Health Protection Authority Officer of the Ministry of Health Dimitris Zografopoulos has requested the pseudo -syndrome of samples.

If the Monitoring Committee came to a conclusion, which has not finally reached, its conclusion would be submitted to the National Bioethics Committee for its approval or any observations before the program began.

If the Commission finally reaches an agreement, we will further inform you of the data. If there is no agreement, the program simply does not start

He added that in the year 2023, in the framework of the « First Steps » pilot program, they had the opportunity of 400 newborn infants with a drop of blood to be examined free of charge for 500 genetic diseases in the Obstetric Gynecology Clinics of the Athens General Hospital « Alexandra ».

He said that « it is my ambition, if we can save even a child and a family from a rare illness, do it.

Has no financial object

And the program contract does not, of course, constitute a legally binding text, with conductive claims for each side, nor an act of suspicion in « clarity », especially because it has no financial object and for this reason, it was not posted on « Transparency ».

He described the issue as « non -existent complaints by reporters from the Reporters United and through the » Editors’ Journal « of a supposedly secret contract with a private company for the possession of genetic data in Greece that has already been signed, has not risen to the » clarity « and conceals some form ».

‘I had decided not to answer’

He added that « I had decided not to answer, but to be institutionally posted on the first question that someone would ask me in the House. But since there was a official announcement of SYRIZA today, I answer SYRIZA – and by this answer the Greek people will also be informed – about the facts:

In this case, with the program contract we have accepted the creation of a project monitoring group that would decide the framework, through which this genetic control could begin. In addition to the representatives of the Institute of Child Health and Children’s Hospitals, the Academician Mr. Dimitris Thanos, the former Rector of the Democritus University of Thrace – Dr. Konstantinos Konstantinos Konstantinos Simopoulos

This group was set up following this program contract, with the aim of proposing to the Ministry of Health the framework and process by which the way to cooperate with the FIRST STEPS team would be extended to extend the pilot program of the year 2023 to be extended to a sufficient number of infants to determine the rare diseases found in the population. This is a prerequisite for developing an integrated national action plan for rare diseases.

Disagreements

Disputes from the Institute of Child Health, which did not agree with the prospect of implementing the genetic neonatal control by the FIRST STEPS group, although in the presence of me that it did not have the technical ability to make this type of genetic control today. It is likely to get it after a few years.

The committee has so far met once, has not come up with a plan, the samples have not started, the final contract has not been signed, nothing has started with all that is said.

In any case, the procedure had already begun, in September 2023, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health Protection (DPO) of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Dimitris Zografopoulos, who comes from the scientific staff of the Personal Data Protection Authority and has set the conditions for the protection of the personal data. Steps ».

The Personal Data Protection Authority is also informed of the process through the Ministry of Health Data Protection (DPO). If the Monitoring Committee came to a conclusion, which has not finally reached, its conclusion would be submitted to the National Bioethics Committee for its approval or any observations before the program began.

If the Commission finally reaches an agreement, we will further inform you of the data. If there is no agreement, the program simply does not start.

Having said that, whether or not this initiative will succeed, I must tell you that genetic control is today the point of technological peaks of the largest countries on the planet, certainly the future of medicine and would be excellent for Greece instead of being one of the last countries again.

It is my ambition, if I can as a Minister of Health I can contribute to Greece to become a pioneer in it, I will certainly do so, because, through this new technology, we can save thousands of human lives.

Political games must retreat in front of human lives. « 

Concluding a post -writer, Mr. Georgiadis said: « Informing the Council of Ministers on Programming Contracts without a financial object that has not even started, it makes no sense for anyone who has been a minister, at least once in his life. SYRIZA is well aware of it, because it unfortunately had the opportunity for the Greek people to set up cabinets in the past. «