I doubt that I would have had any idea how important it is to do this screening if Baby R had not been diagnosed with CF. Our family has no history (that we know of) of any person having CF, so we thought that it was not possible for Baby R to have the disease. Little did we know that Papa R and I were both carriers, and members of our families must have been carrying it for generations.
Here are a few interesting facts about CF:
- 1 in every 30 Caucasian-Americans is a symptomless carrier of CF
- There are more than 10 million carriers in the United States
- 1 in every 400 marriages involves 2 carriers
- More than 30,000 people in the U.S. have CF
- CF is one of the most common genetic disorders of Caucasians
- There is evidence that CF existed as early as 1595
For more information visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
2 comments:
Thanks for the info. Those stats are interesting - and I agree that it is wonderful that Michigan now has that screening law passed. As we know the carrier gene is in at least ONE side of our family - it is good to know that the children here at least will now be screened.
That's great news Katie! I didn't know that. It will be interesting to see how many babies we see at work now with this diagnosis. Until now, you guys have been the only ones I knew of, but I bet there were more that just weren't diagnosed until later in life.
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