Social and cultural issues in genetic counseling

Medical genetics has rapidly emerged as a definitive branch of modern medicine with an increasing number of illnesses described as having an aetiological basis in alterations in one or more genes. Communication of the nature and implications of these disorders to the ‘at risk’ family is the basis of genetic counselling. The complexity of information to be given to a family necessitates a trained genetic counsellor. This article is based on the author’s experience in counselling families with genetic disorders, public perceptions and misconceptions, and the influence of local customs and traditions on attitudes towards such disorders .

Website: http://www.arjonline.org/biosciences/american-research-journal-of-biosciences/