NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Illumina has launched a philanthropic whole-genome sequencing program in conjunction with the Foundation for Children of the Californias, the Rare Genomics Institute, and the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital.

The program, called iHope, is aimed at children with undiagnosed rare diseases who cannot afford diagnostic sequencing. In its first year, Illumina expects to sequence 100 patients and their parents.