Part of a genetic counselor’s job is to take a family history. This record of the family’s medical history typically goes back for at least three generations. It is designed to track disease through a family, providing enough information from each generation to help...
Have you heard of embryo donation? Here’s how it works: individuals who create embryos with in vitro fertilization may altruistically donate their excess embryos to others with infertility. Embryo donation programs (like ORM’s) make donated embryos available to...
Autosomal dominant is a pattern of inheritance. Genetic diseases are caused by gene changes, also called mutations or pathogenic variants that cause the gene not to work properly. We inherit two copies of each gene from our parents; one from our mothers and the other...
Individuals who have family members with certain medical conditions may benefit by seeing a genetic counselor to explore the risk to develop the condition themselves as well as pass it on to their children. One part of the consultation will usually be to record the...
Whether watching reruns of “ER” or the latest episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” viewers are expected to learn a handful of acronyms for medical terminology to keep up with the flurry of dramatic dialogue. While abbreviations such as DNR and...
