Hereditary Disease and Ethical Awareness in Students of Greater Noida, India

Abstract

Abstract

Hereditary diseases are diseases that are transmitted from parents to offsprings. These diseases cause many deaths and sufferings in the world. Often majority of people in developing countries suffer because of illiteracy and ignorance, and are not able to take right decision when the problem persists in the family. Therefore, a survey has been designed and conducted on students of engineering and management branches between age group 18 and 25 years to check general awareness regarding hereditary diseases. In the survey, fifteen questions were asked. The result shows general awareness to be present among most of the students about ethics and inherited diseases. Most of the students think that parents should go for pre-genetic counseling before giving birth to their forthcoming child if the disease is hereditary one. Majority believes that parents should maintain confidentiality from children and society about hereditary disease because of mass discrimination for one or other reasons. However, the suspected individual with a family history of hereditary disease should opt for DNA testing so that diseases can be prevented, treated or cured in advance. In case of incurable inheritable disease, students feel that the knowledge may mislead and cause stress, pain, depression and anxiety. The present article highlights the different views and perspectives of students on different aspects of inherited diseases and ethical awareness related to it.

Keywords: Hereditary, genetic counseling, DNA testing

Cite this Article

Babita Sharma, Jyoti Singh, Raghav Singh. Hereditary Disease & Ethical Awareness in Students of Greater Noida, India. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Bioinformatics. 2016; 3(3): 25–29p.