Thinking about Using a Known Donor to Start Your Family?

Lumi offers Carrier Screening for couples using a known donor! Here’s what you need to know.

Reproductive carrier screening is a couple-based screening test that identifies the risk of you and your testing partner (in this case, your known donor) passing on a genetic condition.

It is recommended carrier screening be completed before you begin trying for your family, as it may impact the decisions you make with your donor.

What Is Reproductive Carrier Screening, and why is it important?

Reproductive carrier screening is a test that looks at certain genes that might cause health issues if a specific variant is passed on to your children. Research shows that 90% of people are carriers of a genetic condition. Most only become aware of their carrier status after having a carrier screening test or having a child with the condition¹.

Genes are like instructions in our body, and sometimes they have small changes that can affect how our body works. Most people have some changes in their genes, but not all of these changes cause health problems.

This is why carrier screening is so important as certain conditions, known as "recessive conditions" can be passed on to your children if you and your partner are carriers of the same condition. You can be a carrier for these kinds of conditions, even with no known family history.

How can I do Carrier Screening with my known donor?

If you have a known donor, couple-based carrier screening can be completed. A combined couple carrier screen is the most cost-effective way to understand the genes you could pass on to your children.

Lumi Health uses a simple, non-invasive cheek swab you can do at home. This screen should be completed before commencing to start family planning. To complete couple-based carrier screening with a known donor, both you and your donor will need to provide a sample. Once your screening has been completed, you and your donor will receive a combined couple report.

What do I do once my screening is complete?

Once your carrier screening is complete and your report is released, you will be able to open, save and download the results.

You can take this report to your first consultation with your chosen fertility and family planning practitioners. The Lumi Health team is here to support your journey, and our extended and comprehensive screens are supported by a genetic counsellor session to answer any of your questions following your results.

References

¹Archibald AD, Smith MJ, Burgess T, Scarff KL, Elliott J, Hunt CE, Barns-Jenkins C, Holt C,Sandoval K, Kumar VX, Ward L et al. Reproductive genetic carrier screening for cystic fibrosis, fragile X syndrome, and spinal muscular atrophy in Australia: outcomes of 12,000 tests. Genetics in Medicine. 2018 May;20(5):513.

McClaren BJ, Metcalfe SA, Amor DJ, AitkinM, Massle J. A case for cystic fibrosis carrier testing in the general population. Medical Journal of Australia. 2011 Feb, 194(4):208-9.