ISLAMABAD: The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based testing, prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling, are vital to mitigate the impact of hereditary and genetic diseases in Pakistan. This was highlighted in a seminar organised by the Department of Animal Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) on Thursday. The seminar conducted by an eminent Turkish academician and researcher Prof Dr Asli Tolun, from Bo?aziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey. Prof Tolun is a well known human geneticist in the Mediterranean and European regions working on hereditary and rare genetic disorders. “Hereditary and genetic diseases are common in Pakistan as well as in Turkey due to various common reasons like consanguinity, early marriages, overlapping generations and large sibships. The hereditary diseases put a tremendous impact on the lives of the patients and their families and three to six percent of the populations in the developing countries are affected by such anomalies. The common hereditary disorders like beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, mental retardation and deafness could be avoided by not doing cousin marriages in families at risk. In the inaugural session of the seminars, Dr Sajid Malik, and Dr Amir Ali Abassi, from National Centre of Bioinformatics highlighted the importance of the said topic and their relevance with the academics and health system of Pakistan. The faculty members and students attended the sessions of the seminar and took great interest in the seminars. Professor Tolun also visited various research labs of the Department of Animal Sciences and National Centre of Bioinformatics and interacted with the faculty. Prof. Tolun had detailed meetings with Prof Dr. Sarwat Jahan, chairperson Department of Animal Sciences, Prof Dr Wasim Ahmad, Dean Faculty of Biological Sciences, and Prof Javed Ashraf, vice chancellor QAU.