LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Have at least $ 68,000 to spare ? If so , you may be in the running to join an exclusive group of individuals who have had their complete genome sequenced . Bidding for an eBay auction for whole genome sequencing service begins at $ 68,000 . Starting Friday , the non-profit X Prize Foundation and private firm Knome are auctioning a whole genome sequence on eBay . The highest bidder will walk away with a full readout of their gene map , along with a complete interpretation of their genetic details . Hopes that genome sequencing will help usher in a new era of individualized health care have been rising ever since the first human genome sequence was completed in 2003 . The genome is a map of all the DNA in the human body . It serves as a blueprint for physical and behavioral traits as well as susceptibility to diseases . If genetic sequencing can be made more widely accessible , it has the potential to have a profound impact on health care , said George Church , a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School who worked on the Human Genome Project . The auction will run for 10 days and bidding begins at a cool $ 68,000 . Proceeds will go to the X Prize Foundation , an educational institute that provides cash incentives to encourage innovation . The launch of the auction on Friday coincides with DNA Day , which marks the day when the double helix structure of DNA was discovered as well as the completion of the first human genome sequence . There are about 1,600 known genes that influence an individual 's health and the health of their offspring , according to Church , who is also a co-founder of Knome . Besides identifying risk of diseases , sequencing can also determine an individual 's potential reaction to certain drugs and pick out those that may be ineffective or even toxic . He believes personal genomes eventually will be integrated into preventive care one day . But genomics today is like the personal computers in the 1970s . Would you pay to have your genome sequenced ? How much ? Send us an iReport with your views . `` This is a time of rapid transition where tools are being developed and people are deciding whether they want to be early adopters or not , '' he told CNN . For now , complete human genome sequencing is still out of reach for most consumers . Cambridge , Mass.-based Knome charges $ 99,500 . The company has attracted at least 20 customers since it was started in 2007 . The winning bidder will be invited to attend a roundtable discussion where Knome 's scientists will review the winner 's analysis . The winner also gets a private dinner with Church . To be sure , the cost of technology has fallen rapidly from the $ 3 billion it cost to sequence the first human genome in 2003 . But it 's still cost prohibitive to incorporate complete sequences into medical research and care . Genomics plays a critical role in the move towards personalized medicine , according to MaryAnn Guerra , executive director of the life sciences prize group at X Prize . But the cost of technology is limiting wide-range research studies which could help shed more light on how to interpret genetic information . `` If we can drive this technology to be at a price point where you can do more studies and apply it more broadly , the more the data will have an impact on individuals , '' she told CNN . In the aim of speeding up the sequencing process and lowering costs , X Prize is offering $ 10 million to the first team to successfully sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days for $ 10,000 per genome or less . However , predicting disease is a tricky business , and there is still much to be understood , researchers say . Recent studies suggest that many diseases are the result of variations of several , rather than just a single , gene . Much more research needs to be done before genetic testing can be applied to personalize medicine , according to David Goldstein , who heads the Center for Human Genome Variation at Duke University . `` Right now we need to understand how the genome of patients is changed in disease , '' he said . `` We do n't understand how genomes of people with epilepsy or autism or schizophrenia differ . We are still at the research phase . ''
Price for auction of whole genome sequencing begins at $ 1 . Opening of auction on Friday coincided with DNA Day . Personal genomics may transform health care , but costs still prohibitive . Much more needs to be done to solve mystery of genome , experts say .