CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD WINNER

Why use the services of a genetic counsellor?

A genetic counsellor is an outstanding resource if you or someone in your family is considering genetic testing or wondering if a certain health condition could run in your family, or if you are interested in learning more about genetic testing options during pregnancy. A genetic counsellor has a unique and valuable skill set that will help you make the best choices and also to make informed decisions. Genetic counselling, through our PhD specialist in medical genetics and counseling, is the right point of reference for individuals who undergo any type of genetic test and wish to fully understand how to make use of those results. Genetic counselling can help individuals find peace of mind or reduce concerns and worries by providing the right balance of information, helping patients find relief to the pressing concerns they might have about an aspect of their health.

Procedure: Ordering the service

Once you have ordered the genetic counselling service, our genetic counsellor will get in touch with you to organize the date and time of the actual call.

A typical counselling session lasts 40 minutes for clinical, health and NIPT testing/Down’s Syndrome testing. 

A session with our counsellor covers the following:

  • The consequences of the disorder and how it will affect the life of the individual
  • The actual nature of the disorder (the course a disease will take from its onset until its eventual treatment or resolution through complete recovery or death)
  • The probability of developing the condition and/or of transmitting it to their offspring
  • Treatments and disease-management plans/ strategies
  • All options available in terms of family planning
  • Understanding the chance of passing a genetic condition on to your children.
  • Guiding you through decision-making about genetic testing, family planning, or medical planning.
  • To give information in an unbiased way and make sure you understand the information to make decisions that are most consistent with your own beliefs, personality, needs, and values.

Benefits of Genetic counselling:

  • Increased knowledge
  • Health care options
  • Details for relatives
  • An early warning system
  • Put your mind at ease

Our genetic counsellor will also address your own questions and concerns related to your risk, that of your family members (if any), children or your pregnancy and any other queries you may have.

The service is available for any of our genetic tests including our non-invasive prenatal test for Down’s syndrome, our genetic health test as well as our skin DNA test.

Will I be asked any questions?

A genetic counsellor often asks some basic questions in order to provide the best possible advice and maximize the results of your genetic test. Questions/ subjects broached could include:

  • Your family health history and ethnic heritage.
  • Your own medical history
  • Your age and gender
  • If you have medical records relating to your concerns, you may want to have them at hand before meeting your counsellor.
  • The details you provide will allow the genetic counselor to understand your health concerns fully.

Discussing DNA results from another company

We do not discuss actual results from other DNA testing companies or laboratories as we do not know how accurate their results are, how they carry out their testing and other related, important factors.