Applications

1637 – Expanded Reproductive Carrier Screening of couples for joint carrier status of genes associated with autosomal recessive and X-linked conditions

Find out about the service or technology in this application and the medical condition it addresses. You can also view the application documents, the deadlines for providing consultation input and the outcome of the application when the MSAC process is complete.

  • Status Complete
  • Type New application
  • Pre-PASC consultation Closed
  • Pre-MSAC consultation Closed
  • Outcome Not supported

Application details

Reason for application

New MBS item.

Service or technology in this application

It is now possible to screen for over 1000 genes using massively parallel sequencing (also known as next generation sequencing).The proposed medical service is reproductive carrier screening of over 1000 genes associated with autosomal recessive and X-linked conditions, to identify the carrier status of couples for autosomal recessive conditions and of women for X-linked recessive conditions, at pre-conception or early pregnancy. The eligible couples will have biological samples taken from them (usually blood or a mouth swab) from which DNA is extracted for analysis.

Type: Investigative

Medical condition this application addresses

Autosomal recessive conditions occur when a mutation in the same gene is inherited from each parent. In other words, if the child only has one copy of a gene mutation inherited from one parent, he or she will not be affected but will be a carrier. If the parents are both carriers for a mutation in the same gene which is associated with an autosomal recessive condition (i.e. both of them have one normal copy and one copy of the gene with a mutation), their children will have 1 out of 4 chance of being affected by the condition.

In X-linked conditions the gene with the mutation is located on the X chromosome. Thus, if the mother is a carrier, her male offspring have a 50% chance of being affected. Female offspring have a 50% chance of inheriting the copy of the gene with the mutation, but are generally either not affected by the condition or are more mildly affected than a male with the mutation; thus the overall chance of having an affected child is close to 1 in 4. The father is not tested for X-linked conditions in the context of screening because he would be expected to be affected if he had a mutation in a gene on the X chromosome.

Application documents

Consultation survey and deadlines

  • PASC consultation: Closed
  • MSAC consultation: Closed Friday 10 June 2022
     

Meetings to consider this application

  • PASC meeting: 12 to 13 August 2021
  • ESC meeting: 9 to 10 June 2022
  • MSAC meeting: 28 to 29 July 2022