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Why Take Carrier Screening Test While Planning For Your Pregnancy?

Why Take Carrier Screening Test While Planning For Your Pregnancy?

Written By Tanya Khanna - January 18, 2024
Read Time - 5 min read

Pregnancy is a very special phase for every parent-to-be! While moms-to-be ensure they eat right and stay fit for the health of their child, the daddies-to-be continue being their ‘protective’ selves! 

However, as responsible individuals, it’s important to understand whether your genetic makeup is compatible with that of your spouse even before you plan a pregnancy. Nowadays, a large number of individuals are coming out as potential carriers of life-threatening genetic disorders that might affect the lives of the children they may conceive in the future. 

This is where a carrier screening test comes to your rescue. It can help you understand everything about the genetic makeup of your spouse as well as yourself, thereby helping you make right reproductive choices. 

Intrigued to know more about the carrier screening test? Let us delve deeper and read further about it. But before that, let us first unravel the term ‘carrier’.

Who Is A ‘Carrier’?

We have our own special traits at the time of birth, which are genetically transferred from each of our parents through inherited genes or DNA. In genetic sense, ‘carriers’ are the individuals (could be either of the parents) who carry the genes for any genetic disorder and they can pass it to their offspring. 

If there is a mutation/change in genes of either of the parents or they are the carriers of any genetic disorder, they have a high risk of passing disorders to their offspring. Sometimes, one or both the parents could be the carriers for a potential, life-threatening genetic disorder.  1

What Is Genetic Carrier Screening Test?

Carrier screening is a form of genetic testing that confirms if you or your partner carry a gene for a certain genetic condition. They might show mild or no symptoms of having any genetic disorder. A positive carrier screening test may indicate that the child may be at a potential risk of contracting a genetic disorder. Therefore, this test plays a significant role in identifying the risks involved and allows couples to find their chances of having a child with an inherited condition. 2

Do You Need A Carrier Screening Test?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommend carrier screening tests for all pregnant women or anyone who’s planning to get pregnant.3 4 However, one can also consider carrier screening test a good option if they’re:

  • Have a family history of genetic conditions.
  • Belong to specific ethnicities who carry high risk of being carriers of hereditary genetic conditions.
  • Proactive and wish to indulge in the additional information regarding the reproductive risks involved in their pregnancy. 3 4

What Are The Common Patterns Of Inheritance?

Gene inheritance is described as passing the genetic information from parent to offspring through genes. There are generally five usual patterns of inheritance seen, which are listed below:5 6 7

What Is Autosomal Recessive Condition?

In case of autosomal recessive inheritance, both the partners are carriers i.e. autosomal recessive diseases affect both males and females equally. If both the partners carry the same gene for any genetic disorder, their children are likely to have 25% chances of inheriting the genetic condition.8

What Is X-Linked Recessive Condition? 

X-Linked recessive inheritance refers to the genetic condition which can be passed from parent to child through changes in a gene on the X-chromosome.  If a father carries only one X chromosome, then the father carrying such a mutation will be affected. However, a mother must have a mutation on both X-chromosomes in order to be affected with the condition.9

This type of inheritance is visible in males only. There is no male to male transmission, that is, a male with an affected gene cannot transfer the disorder to the male offspring. We have two conditions under this:

  • If an infected father has kids with a healthy mother, the male offspring will be unaffected but a girl child will definitely be the carrier.
  • If a healthy father has kids with a carrier mother, then there are 50% chances for male offspring of being affected and 50% chances that female child will be the carrier. 10

Benefits Of Carrier Screening Test

  • Taking a carrier screening test before planning your pregnancy, gives insights on whether either of the partners is a carrier for any genetic disorder. 
  • By any chance, if you or your partner turns out to be the carrier, then you will know the risk of passing any genetic condition to your baby. In such a situation, appropriate steps can be taken to avoid genetic disorder inheritance. 
  • In case of a positive carrier screening test, you may also consider the alternate options of sperm or egg donors. 

It Is Time To Wrap Up

LifeCell’s GenesPass is a comprehensive carrier screening test that analyzes an individual’s risk of passing genetic disorders to their child. It examines both the couple’s DNA for any genetic changes that may affect your parenthood journey. The Advanced GenesPass test analyzes 864 genes to identify genetic variations in both the partner's DNA. Whereas the Comprehensive GenesPass test is designed to collect data on 2000+ clinically relevant genes giving detailed insights into a couple’s genetic blueprint. Using the NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) technology, results are delivered with a detection rate of >95% and reporting accuracy of >99%.

So dear parents, what are you waiting for? Get tested today and opt for LifeCell’s GenesPass test kit, that’s available online. And protect your baby from acquiring any inherited disorder from you or your partner.

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