Genetic diseases can run in the family. The inheritance pattern of the disease determines the likelihood of a person being affected by it. For example, cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disease. This means that both the parents need to carry one copy of the defective gene and pass this defective gene to their children for them to be affected by the disease. That is, a child needs to have two copies of the defective gene to have the disease. In this case, the parents, with only one copy of the defective gene, may not show any signs and symptoms of the disease. So, it is possible that you or your children might not develop the disease, but their children may, if your child marries an individual who is also a carrier of this condition. Again, this is a probability and not a certainty
