The Pros And Cons Of Genetic Counseling

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The purpose of this discussion board is to discuss a genetic counseling scenario of a married couple seeking guidance and direction from a family health nurse. Both couples are carriers of the same genetic disorder and are attempting to start a family. For this scenario, I will be discussing the genetic illness of Huntington’s disease (HD), providing genetic counseling options, sharing advantages and disadvantages of HD, and providing information on what the risks and benefits the couple will be facing. Genetic counseling sessions can educate a family by helping them to understand the significance of their inherited disease, providing them with important information on the risks and benefits of the inheritance along with recurrence risk factors …show more content…

Genetic testing for this family is highly recommended, for this couple’s risk is far too great. Although, there are advantages and disadvantages to genetic testing. For example, some advantages to early detection of the illness can help an individual decided if they want to start a family. It can help provide early opportunities of making decisions of their own health care management from the potential risks that can arise from the associated illness. Genetic testing can also bring relief to the individual and their family, whether they are a carrier of the disease or not (MacLeod et al., 2013). Some disadvantages are once an individual learns of their inherited illness, they develop emotional distress, not knowing how to relay this information to other family members. This also causes psychological stress after realizing that there are no interventions or current cure that can delay the onset of the disease. Another major concern is the potential for discrimination from insurance companies or even from their place of employment, but this should not interfere with the prospects of getting a job (MacLeod et al., 2013). In 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) became a law in the United States, protecting Americans with inherited illnesses (Joseph, Vargas, Johnson, & Timpte,