A view of an industry forum to release a serivce standard on the application of blockchain technology on tenomic data on Thursday. Photo: Li Xuanmin/GT

A standard-setting organization under China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a service standard on the application of blockchain technology to genomic data on Thursday, as part of an effort to establish a unified standard nationwide for the protection of genetic data and the prevention of abuse.

A number of Chinese genomics companies including BGI Genomics Co have already conducted pilot programs using blockchain technology to store and transmit genomic data. 

The standards cover the technological roadmaps for storing, transferring and applying genetic data as well as the rights to different services that are due to involved parties such as collectors, applicants, gene sequencing testers and government supervisors.  

"Blockchain is a decentralized, transparent and traceable technology… whoever access to the genetic data will be recorded. So adopting a unified technology will aid us in eliminating the chances that genetic data is being abused or used illegally," Li Shisen, manager of BGI's blockchain product department, told the Global Times on the sidelines of an industry forum on Thursday. 

In a centralized storage system, the whole database could easily break down or even be leaked if one data point is hacked. Storing genetic data in a decentralized way will hedge against such risks and strengthen data protection, industry insiders explained. 

Another boon of the new standard is that it enables safer data-sharing among different institutions, so that medical organizations could gain access to tremendous amounts of genetic data - a foundation for making technological breakthroughs, Li pointed out. 

BGI launched the blockchain BaaS Platform to conduct genetic analysis, according to media reports. The Shenzhen-listed company reportedly has held trials of the blockchain platform in collecting and sharing the genetic data of its employees in its health data reward system.