Genetic tests are sometimes offered by a genetic counselor when a patient's family genetic history suggests potential risks for certain conditions. Often, a review of family genetic histories will indicate that a genetic test does not need to be conducted. Involvement of a genetic counselor as a first step can reduce health care costs significantly and provide a more comprehensive look at a patient's genetic history. A genetic test might cost ten times that amount and be limited to testing for a single gene. Genetic counseling is a process in which a genetic counselor educates families or individuals about their risk of passing on a genetic predisposition for certain disorders or of having inherited a disorder themselves.
Gene therapy is the highly technical science of altering genes.
For example, genetic technologies have recently led to a new treatment for hereditary immune deficiencies using gene therapy. Genetic counselors may discuss gene therapy in specific disorders, but they are not the professionals who conduct research or carry out the process. Cloning is a laboratory procedure of duplicating cells. It is not available clinically, and genetic counselors are not involved in the process of cloning. Finding a genetic counselor The NSGC website offers an extensive listing of genetic counselors both in the U.S. and around the world.