Participant Experiences of the 100,000 Genomes Project

Participant Experiences of the 100,000 Genomes Project

As a member of Genetic Alliance, Nerve Tumours UK welcomes their latest research and survey results

Genomics England commissioned Genetic Alliance UK to seek the views of patients and carers around the introduction of Whole Genome Sequencing into the NHS. They also wanted to hear about people’s experiences of taking part in the 100,000 Genomes Project ( A project that sequenced 100,000 genomes from around 85,000 people. Participants were NHS patients with a rare disease, plus their families, and patients with cancer).

Here are some of the key findings: 

1. The majority of our respondents were glad they had taken part in the 100,000 Genomes Project:

(73%), would take part again (86%), and would be likely to participate in future medical and genomic research.

2. However, fewer than half (43%) of our respondents said they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their overall experience of taking part in the 100,000 Genomes Project. Respondents indicated that the benefits they hoped for from taking part were not matched by actual benefits achieved at the time of the survey.

3. Most respondents (77%) had yet to receive a result at the time of our survey, which offers a likely explanation for the discrepancy between findings 1 and 2.

4. Over 80% of patients and carers felt they had been provided with sufficient, comprehensible information about the 100,000 Genomes Project before taking part. However they would have liked more information about what to expect during the process, and more regular contact while waiting for a result.

If you would like to find out about the full results of the study you can do so by clicking on the link below: