The major problem with this type of screening has been communicating to those being screened the significance of being a carrier. Care must be taken to prevent carriers from suffering a loss of self-esteem; in addition, the identity of carriers should not become public knowledge, as such disclosure may affect employability and social relations. In some communities in Greece, for example, carriers for thalassemia have been socially stigmatized and have had difficulty finding marriage partners. Carrier screening programs do have a place when the disease is serious and when the testing is accurate and inexpensive.
The commonest type of screening in the practice of a medical geneticist is family screening. Not infrequently, the pedigree analysis will identify others in the family who are ignorant of their potential risk. This situation poses an ethical dilemma as to whether those at risk should be offered this unsolicited information. The dilemma is compounded if the consultand does not wish the relatives to know about the "skeleton in the closet."
Leslie Gornstein
Genes & Genomes The genome is the entire coded genetic blueprint of an organism, the full set of genetic instructions for making all of the molecules that constitute it
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Stem Cells Immunity is the ability of an individual to recognize the "self" molecules that make up one's own body and to distinguish them from such "non-self" molecules as those found in infectious microorganisms and toxins.
Genetic Counseling The public understanding of what genetic counseling involves is sometimes inaccurate, even to the extent that some people are reluctant to attend such counseling.