Location:
Zone B, Level 5, Room 040 (B5-040)
Children’s Hospital
800 Commissioners Road East
London, Ontario
Directions and Parking:
Driving directions to Children's Hospital
Park in Parking Lot 8 located on the north side of the hospital. This lot is accessible at the Wellington and Baseline Road entrance.
Contact:
General Genetics Clinic
Telephone: 519-685-8140
Contact for Referrals:
General Genetics Clinic
Telephone: 519-685-8140
Fax: 519-685-8214
Contents
Our Program
The Medical Genetics Program of Southwestern Ontario provides the following services for children and their families:
What to Expect
Infants and children come to the Medical Genetics department for many reasons. What to expect during your first visit depends on why you are coming to visit us. For more details, review our list of services, as shown above, and select the service you want.
General Genetics Clinic
The General Genetics Clinic provides assessment and genetic counselling for families with infants and children who have:
- Birth defects and/or developmental delay
- Family history of a known or potential genetic disease
Geneticists are also available for in-hospital consultations at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care, London.
When making an outpatient referral, the following information must be faxed to the clinic:
- Reason for referral
- Relevant documentation including consultations, notes and assessments
- Results of any investigations performed to date
You will be sent a family history form to complete. When the clinic receives the family history form, an appointment can be scheduled.
Self-referrals are accepted, but they will be closely evaluated for appropriateness.
Inherited Metabolic Disorders
Inherited Metabolic Disorders are biochemical conditions that are genetic and can cause a person to become very ill. Though some Inherited Metabolic Disorders can be fatal, if interventions and treatments are started early, the severity of the condition usually lessens. Often, early treatment can prevent the condition from developing.
Our knowledge of Inherited Metabolic Disorders continues to grow, with our program expanding to meet the needs of our community and surrounding areas. Our specialized team offers excellent care to all our patients and their families.
Newborn Screening
Newborn screening is available to every newborn in Ontario. Newborn screening is a specialized way of identifying newborns at risk of disorders that can lead to significant health concerns. Newborns are screened for metabolic, endocrine and hematological conditions.
If your newborn does have a positive test result, a genetic counsellor will initiate a call to you or your family physician to arrange for confirmatory testing and discuss the implications of the results.
Currently, close to 30 conditions are screened for. All samples are initially processed within the Ontario Newborn Screening Program at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa.
Links & Resources
National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center (NNSGRC) provide information and resources regarding newborn screening and genetics.
Newborn Screening Ontario is the program based at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa and conducts all testing for congenital disorders in newborns.
The Ontario Newborn Screening Program is the newborn screening (NBS) office and laboratory in Ontario.
