Genetic disorders are still perceived as an uncommon event in our general population. However the literature reveals that every year an estimated 7.9 million children (6 percent of total births worldwide) are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin. Additional hundreds of thousands more are born with serious birth defects of post-conception origin, including maternal exposure to environmental agents (teratogens) such as alcohol, rubella, syphilis and iodine deficiency that can harm a developing fetus.