Planning a family

Cancer risk genes can be passed on to any children you have. If your predictive genetic test is positive and you want to start a family, you have several options. You can:

  • Have your children without any intervention , and risk your child inheriting the faulty gene.
  • Adopt a baby.
  • Use donor eggs or donor sperm (depending on who carries the faulty gene) to avoid passing on the faulty gene.
  • Have prenatal testing, which is a test done in pregnancy that reveals whether your baby has the faulty gene. You can then plan to continue or terminate the pregnancy, depending on the test result.
  • Have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis a techniqueused to select embryos that have not inherited the faulty gene. However, there is no guarantee this technique will result in a successful pregnancy, and funding for it on the NHS may not be available to all patients.
Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018