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Population Screening for Reproductive Risk for Single Gene Disorders in Australia: Now and the Future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Martin B. Delatycki*
Affiliation:
Bruce Lefroy Centre for Genetic Health Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Australia; Genetic Health Services Victoria, Australia. [email protected]
*
*Address for correspondence: Associate Professor Martin Delatycki, 10th Floor, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

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As the results of the Human Genome Project are realized, it has become technically possible to identify carriers of numerous autosomal and X-linked recessive disorders. Couples at risk of having a child with one of these conditions have a number of reproductive options to avoid having a child with the condition should they wish. In Australia the haemoglobinopathies are the only group of conditions for which population screening is widely offered and which is government funded. In some Australian states there are also population screening programs for cystic fibrosis and autosomal recessive conditions more common in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals which are generally offered on a user pays basis. It is predicted that as consumer demand increases and testing becomes cheaper, that many people planning or in the early stages of pregnancy will have carrier screening for multiple genetic conditions. This will have significant implications for genetic counseling, laboratory and prenatal testing resources. In addition such screening raises a number of ethical issues including the value of lives of those born with genetic conditions for which screening is available.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008