Albinism Awareness Month 2015

September

September is Albinism Awareness Month. During this month Government provides information on albinism to make people more aware of what this condition is about.

What is Albinism?

Albinism is an inherited condition where a person is unable to produce normal colouring of the skin, hair and eyes (lack of pigments) the condition can be limited to the eye or involve the eye and the skin.

What causes Albinism?

Albinism is caused by defects in the hereditary material that determines skin colour. People who have normal pigmentation could be carriers of the hereditary material that is defective for skin colour. A carrier mother and father can pass their defective skin colour information on to their children which could then have albinism.

It is important to note that a child with albinism received the defective information from both parents and that it is common for parents with normal skin colour to have a child with albinism. As explained above, albinism is an inherited, generic disorder. Parents of a baby with albinism should never feel guilty about this, it is not their fault. It is a condition caused by the specific albinism genes that a baby has inherited form his/her mother and after at the time on conception.

Source: Albinism Society of South Africa

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