5. GENETIC COUNSELOR
A genetic counselor is perhaps the most important support pillar for
patients and their families. They are healthcare professionals who help
patients to interpret results of genetic tests and negotiate decisions
about reproduction and treatment. They not only impart awareness of the
disease but also provide strength emotionally, psychologically, and in
social behavior. They provide proper information regarding marriages and
also give guidance to the ANC and PNC patients. As the availability of
genetic counselor is not possible in every health care center, so
training should be imparted to all the available health staff such as
doctors, nurses, counselors for counseling patients with genetic
diseases. The goal of genetic counseling is to help people make
thoughtful, informed and balanced decisions about having children by
educating them on how hereditary succession can affect the likelihood
that certain genetic diseases, like SCD, will develop or recur in the
future.20