2010 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2010. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

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what kind of genetic disorders can be prevented because of our knowledge of DNA??      Jessica Hooks, M.S.: I am a prenatal genetic counselor who sees preconception and prenatal patients for a variety of indications. I also serve as the genetic counselor for the Charlotte Fetal Care Center, which is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the prenatal treatment of complex birth defects and obstetrical complications. If we know a couple is at risk to have a child with a genetic disease, in some cases, we can test the embryo before putting it in to the mother to see if it has inherited the disease gene. We would then only put in those embryos that are genetically healthy. This technology is called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student)

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