FAMILYASSAY™ IS FOR ANY COUPLE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR RISK OF PASSING GENETIC DISEASES TO THEIR CHILDREN

Many couples have a family history of serious diseases and conditions. They want to have  children  but  don’t  want  them  to  suffer  in  the  same  way.  So  they  want  to understand  their risk  of  passing  those  inherited  diseases  on  to  their  offspring. Genetic  counselling  can  help  with  this  in  some  cases,  but  relies heavily  on  family history:   it   cannot   provide   a   complete   analysis without   using   detailed   genetic information.

FAMILYASSAY™ informs  you,  as  a  couple,of  your  combined  risk – IF  ANY – of passing  those  diseases  to your  children,  by  comparing  your  own  genetic  markers against each  other  and  against a  comprehensive  database  of  markers  associated with over 700 diseases. This helps us to identify the risk – IF ANY – of your children either suffering from or simply carrying  those  diseases  and  so helps  you,  with  your  genetic  counsellor, to make decisions as you plan your family.

A child inherits one copy of every gene in its DNA from its father and another copy from its mother(apart from those on the X and Y chromosome in the case of male children).  If  one  parent  carries – but  does  not  suffer  from – an  inheritable  disease caused by a genetic mutation in the DNA, the child could, at worst, inherit the same genetic  mutation  but  would  not  suffer  from  the  disease.  However  if  both  parents carry the same genetic mutation in their DNA there is a 25% chance that their child will inherit the same mutation from BOTH parents and so will suffer from the disease that the mutation causes.

FAMILYASSAY™ is a simple non-invasive genetic  test,  performed either  on DNA taken  from  a  cheek  swab  from  each  parent, or  on  a  cheek  swab  from  the  female partner and a semen sample collected from the male partner by your fertility clinic. It works by screening your DNA for specific features that are known to be markers for specific  diseases  that  you  have  told  us  you  are  concerned  about;  it  identifies,  in particular,  any  of  these  markers  which  both  parents  have  in  common  and tells  you what they may mean for the health of your children.

HOW TO REQUEST FAMILYASSAY™?

1- Provide us with your contact details and some basic information by following the “ENQUIRE” link on the right side of this page.

2- ICPM will send you the test request form, consent form, terms and conditions and payment information: complete and return to us the test request and consent forms and pay for the test.

3-ICPM will  send  the FAMILYASSAY™ sample collection kit and instructions to you or to your clinic at the address you have provided.

4-You  will be asked to collect a sample from each partner and we will extract and analyse DNA from each one: a swab of tissue (buccal swab) from the inside of your cheek of the female partner and either a buccal swab or sample of semen from the male  partner,  depending  on  your  choice  of  test,and  should return  the  samples immediately to ICPM for processing.