This genetic mutation can be passed from parents to a child at the time of conception. Whether the child will develop the genetic disorder depends largely on the pattern of inheritance. There are two rules that predict the likelihood that a person will inherit a genetic disorder.
When such diseases are inherited (rather than the result of a random mutation), it means they are passed along to a child from one or both parents according to a specific patterns of inheritance.
Autosomal Recessive Disorders. With autosomal recessive disorders, the person requires two copies of the mutated gene—one from each parent—to have the disorder. A person with only one copy will be a carrier. Carriers will in no way be affected by the mutation or have any signs or symptoms of the disorder.
Examples of autosomal recessive disorders include cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, Tay-Sachs disease, and phenylketonuria (PKU). X-linked dominant disorders are caused by mutations in genes on the X (female) chromosome.