Expert: Walter Hintz - 10/20/2008

Question
Well i have a friend who is a normal healthy 19 year old and she is going to have her second baby. Well recently they found a couple of issues with her unborn baby. It has only one kidney, fluid around its heart, and a damaged veterebae. Her doctors did some tests and they found her baby has been diagonsed with a fusion of chromosome number two. Her doctor has never seen anything like this and is doing serious research. He said this is a very rare disorder that will leave her baby mentally challenged. The more common problem with chromosome 2 has been an extra gene or a deleted gene but this is different. I cant much research on this issue. But i heard from a "birdie" that the baby's dad is inbred. Im not sure if his parents are brother and sister or just in the same family.and he doesn't look like he is inbred (no visual issues) could this be the main cause in this mutation? and i dont think my friend has told her doctor that he is inbred due to emabarrassment.

Answer
Hi Heather
  Incest does not necessarily result in serious mutation. Whether or not the father passed on this gene is not important anyway. I have not heard about a problem with the second pair of chromosomes so I know nothing about it either.
If the doctor is correct and we must assume he knows what he is talking about this child is headed for a miserable life anf possibly an early death  I do not know the religious persuasion of the mother but if it was my decision I would abort this child.