You could make at least $5,000 by selling a genetics company the right to patent your DNA! Sound too good to be true? Horrified by the thought of where we’re headed as a society?

We were curious to see what the public’s reaction would be if they were presented with the opportunity to sell the rights to their genetic makeup for a hefty sum, so we built a website to let them do it – SellMyDNA.com. It’s based on a very real premise – the fact that DNA and genome patenting is a very real and very legal outlet in the United States. Because of our outdated current patent laws, companies patent genes all the time, and there’s a big debate over whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Michael Crichton wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times condemning the practice last year.

Our site contains plenty of fake testimonials from people who have sold their DNA, as well as a section informing the reader that it’s perfectly legal to patent a friend’s DNA once it leaves their body. You’d be amazed at how many people want to sell their DNA, and are also looking to cash in on other people’s genetic code. We’ve gotten a few interesting propositions in the few months that the site has been up.

The site is funny, yes, but most people who see it think that it’s real. And since this is a pretty serious subject, we have a Disclaimer link at the bottom of every page on the site, alerting the reader that the site itself is a satire, but some of the issues raised are quite real. Also, if people do email us to try to sell their DNA, we respond with a link to said Disclaimer page, so as not to mislead anyone. We also do not collect email addresses or personal information of any kind. SellMyDNA.com exists to educate people on a rather obscure topic in a unique and interesting way.

And also ’cause it’s funny.

Enjoy.