As reported on August 2, 2018, an article titled "BGI Cancer" once again pushed BGI to the forefront of public opinion. This time, it was not only its chairman who was criticized by the media. The statement is shocking: "Company employees must live to be 100 years old," but its non-invasive prenatal genetic testing technology has been questioned.
According to reports, a pregnant woman in Hunan had a history of adverse pregnancy. When she went to the hospital to have a more comprehensive prenatal check-up, she followed the advice of a local doctor and did not undergo screening, but directly underwent BGI. A non-invasive DNA test, which doctors said at the time was comprehensive and advanced, with an "accuracy rate as high as 99.99%."
Therefore, the pregnant woman chose to do BGI’s non-invasive DNA test at that time. The result showed “low risk” and the doctor also believed that there was no abnormality. But a few weeks later, tragedy struck and she gave birth to a baby with an abnormality in chromosome 13. The media believes that some hospitals and doctors praise non-invasive testing too much and are suspected of abusing the technology.
Amid various negative reports, BGI held its second media open day event in Shenzhen on August 1 to provide an official response to recent events. Zhu Yanmei, executive vice president of BGI Group, said that none of the rumors were true. "Although we have been misunderstood, we always adhere to BGI's values: integrity is the bottom line, and benefit is the goal. BGI is still in a period of rapid growth. We hope that all sectors of society will pay attention to We are more tolerant and confident."
In response to the above Changsha case, Xu Qian, secretary of the board of directors of BGI Co., Ltd., responded: "When we answer this question, we should distinguish right from wrong first, and then discuss right and wrong. There is a conceptual error in the statement that BGI missed the test in the Hunan case. In fact, this case was not within the scope of BGI’s non-invasive prenatal testing, so there is no claim for compensation to the other party. ”
< p> Regarding online rumors that "Mei Yonghong, chairman of BGI Agriculture Group, will join Country Garden," BGI emphasized, "Currently, BGI Agriculture is indeed exploring and negotiating cooperation with Country Garden Agriculture, hoping to complement each other's advantages, but the decision has not yet been finalized. Mei Yonghong will not leave BGI."