The child was critically ill. The treating team at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, DC, was stumped and worried that time was running out. Every test was coming back negative.

Genetics was called in to look for chromosomal mutations that might suggest the source of the problems. The geneticist recommended whole-exome sequencing, which tells a story based not only on all of the childs genes, but on two additional sources as well: the mothers and the fathers genes.

They found something they werent looking for. The father, the worried man in the waiting room who raised this child, wasnt the biological father. In genomics its called an incidental finding, and it raises huge ethical questions: Do you reveal this to the parents? Only to the mother? Or, if the results dont affect the childs care, do you even tell anyone?

In this case, the team called on the hospitals ethics committee for help.

I think withholding information can feel paternalistic, [genetic counselor Monisha Samanta] Kisling says. We dont want to say, Hey, I dont think you can handle this information. Thats not necessarily our judgment call to make. Overall, its just a really, really tough decision.

Read full, original post: Youre Not the Father: A Moral Dilemma in Genetic Testing

Read more:
'Really tough decision': What should doctors do when genetic testing reveals that dad isn't the child's biological father? - Genetic Literacy Project

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