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It's in the Genes
Testing for Genetic Disorders
By Carma Haley
When a couple decides to have a baby, they will often discuss what they hope the child will inherit from either parent: blue eyes, blonde hair, intelligence, sense of humor, athletic ability, musical talent. However, no parent wants to pass along a predisposition to heart disease, the disorder of color blindness or a disease such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia.
But many do. Genetic disorders are one aspect couples trying to conceive may often overlook. For couples who have a family history of genetic disorders, that can be a costly – and sometimes fatal – mistake.
Each person carries within them DNA, which determines what and who we are at the time of conception. Our DNA determines hair color, eye color, height, weight, skin and the health a person will have.
So where do we get our DNA? It is passed from parent to child at the time of conception. When a baby is conceived, the egg of the mother and the sperm of the father are joined. Within the egg and sperm is the DNA of the parents.
As each parent gives their child a copy of their DNA, they are also giving them a copy of what their parents gave to them – offering an explanation as to why a child may look like their grandmother or grandfather or suffer from the same illness.
According to Barbara Hanson, Ph.D, a professor of genetics and biology at Canisius College in New York, DNA is both the how and why of the passing of genetic disorders. "DNA is the heredity material of a cell," says Hanson. "DNA that you carry, or any human being carries, contains genes which hold the information for making a human being. A genetic disorder is a problem in a particular type of gene a person carries. If there is a mistake in the DNA – it can be a big mistake or a little mistake – then there is some type of genetic disorder."
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