Down Syndrome
Down syndrome (a.k.a Trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder that affects a person’s learning abilities, growth rate, and facial features. This syndrome occurs within 1 out of 830 babies. A person with Down syndrome typically has the life expectancy of 55 years or higher. Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome from inheriting an extra copy from one of their parents. Instead of having a full set of 46 chromosomes, a person with Down syndrome would have 47 chromosomes. The extra copied chromosome is chromosome 21 (hence the name “Trisomy 21”).