Genetic Counselling

Know what genetic disease you are susceptible to. Know how can you deal with the disease. Know how your unborn baby can bear it. Or know that it can’t bear it.

Genetic counselling helps an individual become aware of his/her genes. In association with Genomic Counselling, it is the hot topic of influence on many groups of individuals who want to know their true genetic identity, who want to know what might happen with them in near future and who also want to know the ways to cope up with the fact.

Genetic Counselling focuses on genetically inherited diseases – the disease which our parents or grandparents might have given us, which cannot be avoided but only dealt with. A few diseases like Down Syndrome, cannot be cured but managed, while other ones like Phenylketonuria (PKU) can be actually cured.

Genomic counselling focuses not only on genes involved in certain physiological diseases, but also gives us an overview of our self-topology i.e. our strengths, weaknesses, susceptibility, allergies, tolerances, intolerances and abnormalities – all in a physiological sense. So, if one is susceptible to having Diabetes in near future, he may as well avoid sweets from now on. If one is lactose intolerant, it is better to run as far away from a cheesecake store as possible.

Why the counselling ? Pros are that we already know a lot about ourselves, now that we can take steps to do certain things and follow certain rules for our own better livelihood. It is good for us to know how much we or our baby can bear, because if the situation becomes unbearable, it becomes worse than the preventive phase. The cons depend upon the family background, their faith and perspectives and a great deal on a few issues related to medical ethic. A conception may be prevented if a genetic disorder is found, or continued if parents are ready to bear the consequences. It is never intended to know so much about ourselves. Why ? Because we are imperfect in every sense, and the stress and fear of livelihood becomes a dominant factor if we are to deal with such a situation. Moreover, it is a costly affair and not everyone can afford it.

However, it is the duty of genetic counsellors who are trained professionals and know how much to convey and more significantly how to convey. Plus, they also know that sometimes, lack of information is a virtue and it is better not to tell. So if one has an optimistic attitude towards it, they can always opt for it. The quote of ‘Prevention is better than cure’ never loses its value, at least for now.

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