Most carriers of recessive gene mutations have no family history of inherited disease. Such disorders can remain hidden in families for hundreds of years before suddenly and unexpectedly reappearing. We are all carriers of recessive mutations, but we do not realise it because we have two copies of each of our genes (with the exception of X-chromosome genes in males). Having one defective copy is not sufficient to cause disease. To have a recessive inherited disease both copies of the gene must be knocked out by mutation. GeneSeeker can look for hidden recessive mutations carried by you and your partner and identify whether you have any in the same gene. In such cases, there is a risk that you could each pass a defective copy of the gene to a future child, meaning that they would have no functional copy of the gene and would develop an inherited disorder.
