Dna Today: A Genetics Podcast

Today is Rare Disease Day! I attended the National Organization for Rare Disorders' (NORD) event in Hartford, Connecticut’s Legislative Building. I recap the event and feature two interviews, one with Michelle Cotton, a patient advocate and mom of a child with a rare disease. The other interview is with Representative Dave W. Yaccarino, who spoke to me about the legislation's impact on biotech and Rare Diseases. Some facts about Rare Diseases, 30 million Americans have a Rare Disease which means 1 in 10 people in America are affected. Over half of those with a Rare Disease are children, and about 30% will not survive past 5 years old (NIH). We are aware of over 7,000 rare diseases and continue to discover more every year. Today's event was to raise awareness of Rare Diseases to the public, but most of all to our state legislators as many decision on the state level have major impacts on those in the Rare Disease community. Speakers of the event mentioned in this episode include... Vanessa Proctor, the Exec