Genetic Testing
Globally, few people in developing countries visit health institutions for genetic testing. Pharmaceutical and lab testing firms most of the people who undergo genetic testing follow health practitioners’ call due to their health conditions. Genetic testing is a test which is carried out to determine an individual’s clinical genetics which is related to genetic changes that cause different conditions and diseases in the body. Genetic testing is significant in the determination of different genetic disorders which are inherited from a family lineage and the probability of an offspring inheriting such disorders. Different types of genetic tests include biochemical, chromosomal, and molecular tests which study different lengths of the DNA. Since genetic diseases are inherited, an individual from a family which has a high prevalence of genetic complications has high risks of genetic disorders.
Medical researches prove that genetic traits are inherited through several distinct patterns. According to Robson et al (2015), if a parent has dominant genetic diseases, the children sired have 50% of inheriting the genetic disorder. Also, if an individual’s parents have similar recessive genetic diseases, the individual has 25% possibility of inheriting the disease, or 50% possibility of being a carrier, or 25% chances of not inhering the disease. For instance, according to my family’s genogram, my relatives have inherited multiple genetic-related health complications. My late paternal grandfather had recessive genes of obesity and dominant genes of colorectal cancer, hypertension, and kidney stones whereas my late paternal grandmother had throat cancer.
On the other hand, my late maternal grandfather had diabetes mellitus type 2 and arthritis while my late maternal grandmother had leukemia. In turn, my father inherited only hypertension and kidney stones whereas his siblings inherited dominant genes for obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, and hypertension. My mother has only gerd dominant genes. However, none of my siblings have shown any signs of genetic disorders yet.
Genetic testing is significant since it has both positive and negative benefits which are reliable in the management of health care for an individual. Such testing clears genetic uncertainties which an individual may have concerning their family genogram. Genetic screening is advised at the birth of a newborn to promote genetic health management. However, most people fear genetic testing due to the negative social, and emotional consequences that may occur (Syngal et al, 2015). Health governmental and non-governmental institutions provide health promotion through the establishment of genetic-related programs which advocate for early genetic screening, counselling and prevention measures.
In conclusion, the National Genome Research Institute affirms that most people fear genetic testing due to the fear of discrimination. Due to this, federal governments have enacted health promotion laws such as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act to protect individuals who have inherited genetic disorders. Vissers et al (2017) affirm that people ought to become aware of their genetic conditions through genetic testing to enable them to make appropriate decisions on advanced health care planning since many people have recessive genes which their children can inherit without their knowledge. All in all, genetic disorder patterns are complex thus requiring the health of health experts to determine their sequence.