Minister for Health Greg Hunt MP speaks to the importance of initiatives such as Mackenzie’s Mission in Parliament.
Mackenzie’s Mission, co-led by Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research geneticist Professor Nigel Laing AO, is a national pre-pregnancy screening study testing volunteer couples for genetic mutations that cause devastating diseases.
In Thursday March 25th’s Parliament of Australia sitting, the Minister for Health outlined how programs such as Mackenzie’s Mission are continuing to provide hope and support to families battling medical conditions.
“[We] announced the funding of $20 million dollars for thousands and thousands of families to have access to carrier screening, which would then allow them if they were carrying up to now 1300 different genetic conditions, to seek IVF,” he said.
The Minister also shared the incredible determination of the Casella family, who fought for the program in memory of their daughter Mackenzie, who lost her battle with spinal muscular atrophy at 7 months. The Minister said the initiative is “a tribute to the determination of their family, it’s a tribute to medical science and it’s a tribute to this program that we have in Australia.”
View Minister Greg Hunt’s address here.
