Community, Corporate, Genetic & Rare Diseases

Video: Every Diagnosis Matters

Families facing rare diseases often spend years pinpointing the problem in solitude – until now

Every Diagnosis Matters
September 13, 2019

We are on the brink of a breakthrough and there is new hope for families facing rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases. The value of a definitive diagnosis stops the guessing, grows our understanding and fuels hope for the future. And, with a diagnosis comes the opportunity to connect with other families who share similar experiences.

Some 350 million people globally are affected with rare diseases – 80% of which have a genetic cause. On average, families facing rare diseases often spend eight years seeking a diagnosis. Eight years of doctor appointments, inconclusive tests, hospital visits, costly treatments, and sleepless nights. More than 52 million children with a rare disease will not live to see their fifth birthday.

“You either get that answer, or you die trying,” said Matt Might, Ph.D., a rare disease parent advocate and director of the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who shares his story in this video.

 

The Value of a Definitive Diagnosis: An Answer is Everything

Today there is new hope for families facing rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases. Thanks to leading-edge technology called whole genome sequencing, some diagnostic odysseys have been halted in their tracks.

Tribe Up: Finding a Community When You’re Looking for Answers

During Matt Might’s family’s 4.5 year diagnostic odyssey, he recalls not only wanting an answer, but craving a community. Might’s son, Bertrand was the first to be diagnosed with NGLY1. Jennifer Leftwich’s son, Gage was the 9th to be diagnosed with NGLY1 after their family’s 14.5 year diagnostic odyssey.

And, while both boys only share one gene, upon meeting in person, they instantly became ‘family’. Both Might and Leftwich recount the tangible warmth and resilience they felt upon connecting with other NGLY1 families. Today, they are a tribe.

Genomics is helping solve some of the most challenging problems in the human condition and providing new hope for people around the world. You can learn more by visiting The Mighty, a digital health community created to empower and connect people facing health challenges and disabilities, or one of the organizations below.

 

Read this Patient Advocacy Resource on Whole Genome Sequencing for Rare Disease

Read this customer interview on a landmark NGS study that lead to a national clincial diagnostic exome sequencing platform in Singapore.

 

Recent Articles

A biobank for the Americas and a genomics lab power precision health for all
A biobank for the Americas and a genomics lab power precision health for all
Q&A: Courtney Felle, champion of youth living with rare disease
Q&A: Courtney Felle, champion of youth living with rare disease
Give someone a fish, you feed them—unlock the fish genome, you feed the world
Video: Give someone a fish, you feed them—unlock the fish genome, you feed the world