For more information on your genetic risk, talk with your health care provider.

Genetic testing of adults is usually done on a routine blood sample. Sometimes a saliva or buccal (cheek swab) sample can be used. Genetic testing of a pregnancy is usually done on a sample from the placenta or the amniotic fluid. Before you go for testing, you’ll be offered genetic counselling. The counsellor will talk […]

There are 2 types of genetic testing: Genetic screening Genetic diagnosis Genetic screening is usually done during the first or second trimester of pregnancy to give you information about the chances your baby will have certain genetic conditions, like Down syndrome (an extra copy of chromosome 21). Down syndrome is not usually inherited, but is […]

Knowing your family history can give a lot of information that helps a genetic counsellor assess: if a condition in your family is inherited your chance of inheriting the condition the chance you’ll pass it on to your children Your family history can give information about ancestry or heritage. This can be important because some […]

Genetic counsellors take information about your family and medical history to learn what your genetic risk is. Depending on the condition in your family, understanding genetic risk may tell you: the chance that you may develop an inherited condition the chance that you could pass the inherited condition to your children Not all physical and […]

When someone says that a medical condition ‘runs in the family’, they usually mean that one or more people in their family have the condition. In some cases, those conditions can be the result of genes that parents pass on to their children. When this happens it’s called an inherited condition. Genes give the instructions […]