A lack of genetic consultation services has resulted in the birth of many infants with deformaties and life-long suffering, according to Phan Thi Hoan, deputy director of the Biology and Genetics Department at the Hanoi Medical University.
Nguyen Thi V (not her real name), 37, from Y Yen District in northern Nam Dinh Province, has decided not to get married because she is worried that a potential husband would find out about a congenital malformation that would prevent her from ever having children.
"In V's situation, it would be easy to fix the problem with surgery," said Hoan.
Couples having difficulty conceiving because of genetic disorders could also benefit from surgery. The department has recently received many of these cases, and most couples are happy and surprised after they receive advice and treatment. Prior to seeking genetic consultations, most of the couples had tried a variety of expensive methods to conceive in search of good results.
"If there were a genetic consultant centre available, these patients would not waste time trying ineffective treatments," said Associate Professor Tran Duc Phan.
Despite a population boom, the quality of life has improved in recent years.
However, 1.5 per cent of the population suffers from genetic problems and that number is at risk of increasing, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Ba Thuy.
"In Thailand, there is one genetic consultant centre for every 1 million people. In Viet Nam, with our population of 80 million, there isn't even one centre," said Hoan.
Genetic consulting centres could help people make better life decisions. For example, if one or both people in a couple suffer from epilepsy, genetic consulting could help them make good decisions about starting a family.
Military Hospital 103 has recently announced an advanced method of diagnosing malformations prior to the mother giving birth.
"Doctors take a sample of DNA from the fetus for analysis. If deformaties are detected, the parents will receive free treatment advice," said Tran Van Khoa, head of the Genes and Cells Department of the hospital.
Source: VNS