Finding the Straws
in the Wind
– Interview with
Professor Lo Yuk Ming, Dennis
Modern
diagnoses have been
made easy in a number of ways and Hong
Kong’s own scientists have made tremendous
contributions. Prof. Lo Yuk Ming, Dennis, Director
of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences at
the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is an expert
in diagnostic applications of blood plasma.
He developed a simple, non- invasive blood
test that checks for a slew of prenatal diseases
through examining foetal DNA in maternal blood
plasma, as opposed to blood cells. The method
boasts nearly 100% accuracy and is much safer
compared to older methods.
The prenatal diagnostic was discovered when
he found that a foetus will release DNA into the
plasma of the mother. Previous scholars had
suggested testing foetal DNA through blood cells,
but Prof. Lo explained that blood plasma contains
a significant proportion of foreign DNA – such
as that from a foetus, placenta or even cancer.
His idea was first proven by the discovery of DNA
fragments of a male foetus in maternal plasma.
By analysing the DNA fragments, the gender,
blood type and abnormalities are able to be
determined.
見微知著
－盧煜明教授專訪
