The rise of the genetic counseling profession in China.

The rapid development of genetic and genomic technologies has greatly boosted medical genetic researches and clinical services worldwide. Since last century, genetic counseling in the United States has helped individuals and families understand, accept, and cope with their genetic issues. This fledging profession, which is in essence a branch of social work, emerged in China relatively late but has rapidly grown over the last few years. We believe that genetic counseling will continue to play a pivotal role in building communication channels between medical doctors and their patients, the government and the general public, and social organizations and their customers in China. The growth of genetic counseling aims to enable patients and family members to make informed decision which in turn will lead to the reduction of the birth prevalence of severe congenital anomalies and genetic disorders.