Community
Genetics Program
Genetics Program
Welcome to the Wolper Jewish Hospital Preconception Genetic Screening Program
If you are not a carrier of any of the conditions you are tested for, it means that any future children of yours will have an extremely low chance of having any of those conditions. Your partner may still be a carrier of a genetic condition, but your children will be at low risk of being affected with that condition. They may be a carrier, just like your partner. A carrier is at very low risk of having health issues related to the condition.
If you are a carrier of a genetic condition, our genetic counsellor will recommend genetic screening of your partner to see if your future children are at low or increased risk of having the condition. If you do not have a partner now, it is important to remember to discuss genetic screening with a future partner when you are planning to have children together.
Any couple found to be at increased risk of having a child with a genetic condition will be referred to a genetic specialist and a genetic counsellor to guide them through their decision making and help them deal with the practical and emotional impact of this information.
As you saw in the previous section, if both parents are carriers of the same condition, each child has a 1 in 4 chance of having the genetic condition. Some couples may choose to use this information before they get pregnant. For example…
They may choose to conceive through IVF and test each embryo 5 days after the eggs are fertilized. Only those embryos that DON’T have the condition are implanted into the mother. This is called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).
Some couples may choose to adopt a child, or to conceive using either eggs or sperm from a donor who isn’t a carrier of the same condition.
Some couples may choose to fall pregnant naturally and test the pregnancy at around 11 weeks. If the embryo has the genetic condition, they may choose to terminate that pregnancy, depending on the severity of the condition and their personal values. Other couples may continue the pregnancy, but knowing that their child will have a genetic disorder will help them prepare emotionally, financially and practically for the birth, and life with a child with a serious genetic condition.
Questions? Check out the faqs