L

Lord Patel (CB)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 20 January 2025

Debate

First-cousin Marriage

Contribution

My Lords, we know that there are over 6,000 genetically related rare diseases and that, apart from first-cousin marriages, there are other high-risk areas. One, which the Minister just mentioned, is the age of the mother, but this also applies to the age of the father, to people who undergo certain medical technology treatments for fertility reasons, and to mothers who smoke at a higher rate. So, there are lots of other influences that may give rise to genetic-related issues at birth. But the important question is: are there any areas where we can definitively say, “If you do X, Y and Z, or if you do not do X, Y and Z, the incidence of genetic diseases will be reduced”?

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