New genetic lab and counselling facility at Child PGI Hospital in Noida

A genetic laboratory was inaugurated at the Postgraduate Institute of Child Health (PGICH) in Sector 30 on Saturday

A genetic laboratory was inaugurated at the Postgraduate Institute of Child Health (PGICH) in Sector 30 on Saturday. According to officials, the lab will be used to identify and investigate rare genetic disorders among children.

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Dr Ajai Singh, director, PGICH said, “The institute has an operational Medical Genetic Department, but samples of patients suffering from genetic disorders were sent to advanced labs outside for investigation. With the new genetic lab, investigation of rare genetic disorders like beta thalassemia will be conducted in house. The lab will be used for genetic research and testing samples of patients”.

Dr Singh added that the laboratory will be further developed in the future to investigate other rare genetic disorders like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), among others.

Apart from this, the hospital partnered with a US-based private diagnostics lab on Friday to provide free counselling for families with a history of genetic disorders, and those planning to have children. A dedicated genetic counsellor will counsel families with genetic disorders history as well as provide protective genetic counselling for new couples without any such history as well. This facility will prove beneficial to families as most centres in Delhi and NCR do not offer dedicated genetic counselling, officials said.

Dr Mayank Nilay, expert, medical genetic department, PGICH, said that the incidence of genetic diseases in newborns ranges from 3% to 5% as most genetic diseases and malformations are found in newborns or young children.

“Most of the genetic diseases cannot be cured, but it is possible to prevent them. The main purpose of genetic counselling is to educate people about genetic diseases that run in families. Definitive information regarding the likelihood of having a child with a genetic disorder and prenatal diagnosis through pregnancy test is important to the family,” he said.

Dr Singh said that dedicated genetic counselling will begin at the hospital from next week. “A memorandum of understanding has been signed between PGICH and Redcliffe Labs, a unit of Redcliffe Lifetech in the US, under which free genetic counselling facility will be launched. Under this agreement, a dedicated genetic counsellor from the lab will be posted in the Medical Genetic Department of the institute,” he said.

Officials added that the genetic counsellor will offer support and information to families who are dealing with or at risk of genetic disorders. The counsellor will gather and analyse family history and inheritance patterns, determine the likelihood of recurrence, and provide details on genetic testing and associated procedures; and assist in identifying families who may be at risk of a genetic disorder.

“The primary goal of genetic counselling is to provide families with accurate information about the likelihood of having a child with a genetic condition as well as a prenatal diagnosis via pregnancy test. Therefore, genetic counselling is the need of the hour. It not only saves money in the long run, but also saves lives,” said Ishaan Khanna, director, reproductive medicine and genetics, Redcliffe Labs.