RESUMEN
Background and Aim: These days with the improvements in science and technology the number of individuals who suffer from genetic disorders should be drastically less. A crucial method for preventing these disorders, in the first place, is by genetic counseling. Educating the public in regards to how they can avoid producing affected children
Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, all the files of the couples attending Genetics Clinic of the Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, during 1995 to 2004 were studied. The data were collected using a reliable questionnaire and SPSS software was applied for data analysis
Results: The most important variable in this study was the relationship between the couples. The most frequent among the consanguineous marriages was the cross first cousins [45.3%], and the least frequency belonged to non-related marriages [6.4%]. The most frequent genetic diseases belonged to children who their parents were parallel first cousins [84.8%]
Conclusion: Due to the importance of genetic counseling in relation to reducing the frequency of the genetic disorders in society, educating the general public about compulsory genetic counseling before marriage, is the cheapest and the most effective approach in limiting the number of patients with genetic abnormalities