- With Mayo Clinic genetic counselor
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
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Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
"We must begin now to prepare for the future; we cannot wait until the details are known or fully understood."*
— David B. Schowalter, M.D., Ph.D., former Mayo geneticist, (*posthumous)
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C., is a board-certified genetic counselor who specializes in hereditary cancer syndromes. One of her main professional interests is the family medical history.
"Recognizing features in the family history which may suggest an underlying single gene disorder can have a huge impact on families," she says. "Identifying a genetic susceptibility gene can allow family members to more accurately understand their risk of disease and empower those who have an increased genetic susceptibility to take control of their medical management and lifestyle factors which may influence this risk."
She received her B.S. in biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2002 and M.S. in genetic counseling from the University of Minnesota in 2004.
She was a clinical genetic counselor at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis., before joining Mayo Clinic in August 2006 as a genetic counselor and educator for the grant-funded Mayo Eisenberg Genomics Education Program. During her time in Wisconsin, she was also an active member of the metabolic subcommittee of the state Newborn Screening Program and co-facilitated a phenylketonuria clinic.
At Mayo Clinic, she provides physician and staff education about clinically relevant topics in genomics. She also manages multiple education projects championed by Mayo Clinic physicians and is a faculty member for Mayo Medical School. In addition to her education roles, she sees adult patients in the Department of Medical Genetics.
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Genetics blog
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April 17, 2009
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis option on a slippery slope?
By Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Prenatal testing comes in many forms and requires a thoughtful decision.
Some individuals choose no testing; others choose non-invasive options, such as first-trimester screening, to determine their level of risk for select genetic conditions such as Down syndrome.
Others may elect invasive medical procedures, such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, to determine whether or not the child will be born with a genetic condition. As if these decisions weren't complicated enough, new genetic technologies make it possible to determine even more about a child's health.
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can be used as part of the in vitro fertilization process to select embryos with given characteristics. For instance, some families may have a known genetic condition in their family which they wish to avoid passing on to future generations. Following the fertilization of an egg with a sperm outside the body, the embryos are tested to determine if they have the trait which is hoped to be avoided. The embryos that do not carry the trait are then selected for implantation.
Some professionals are concerned that the process of PGD is an ethical "slippery slope". How do we decide which traits are appropriate to select for and which aren't? Recently, the Fertility Institute, a fertility clinic in California, advertised to prospective parents an increased chance of having a baby with their choice of hair, eye and skin color, if they used their PGD services. Is this appropriate? Or, is this irresponsible use of a technology which is meant to be used to prevent children from being born with serious medical conditions? Who should decide?
Please share your thoughts.
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