Your coverage of genetic privacy issues (Nature 493, 451 and Nature 494, 7; 2013) does not address concerns relating to DNA collected from children, who have contributed thousands of biobank samples worldwide.

Open sharing of genotype and phenotype information is crucial for advancing research into childhood diseases, but depends on consent from patients or their parents. Children cannot themselves consent to participation in research with long-term privacy implications. However, parental consent is currently founded on unrealistic promises of anonymity and confidentiality.

For the responsible conduct of research, parents need to be made fully aware of the risk of identifiability before granting consent on their children's behalf (J. E. Lunshof et al. Nature Rev. Genet. 9, 406–411; 2008).

Stringent research protocols are necessary to protect child donors (D. Gurwitz et al. Science 325, 818–819; 2009). But we should not prohibit the publication of sequencing information that could save lives. For example, mutations in calmodulin gene sequences are associated with some sudden infant deaths (L. Crotti et al. Circulation http://doi.org/kjz; 2013).