In the United Kingdom, genetic counsellors work together with clinical geneticists and clinical scientist colleagues within specialist genetics services, but they also often work in multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) outside of such services. There, they contribute genetic knowledge together with expert understanding of how to communicate genetic information effectively. They can offer education and support to the MDT, while providing management advice for both affected patients and the extended at-risk family members. As genomic technologies are implemented across many disciplines within healthcare, genetic counsellors are playing a key role in enabling non-genetic health professionals learn, understand and integrate genomic data into their practice. They are also involved in curriculum development, workforce planning, research, regulation and policy creation – all with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base from which to practise, together with clear guidelines on what constitutes competence and good practice. The Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors (AGNC) in The United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland is committed to supporting genetic counsellors, across all sectors of healthcare and research, as they help deliver genomic medicine for the patient, family and world-class health services.

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) secondary to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) receive fewer living-related kidney (LRK) transplants than other groups with ESRD. This relates to the difficulties in excluding the disease in potential donors. We report a case which highlights these difficulties and, by discovery of mosaicism for a new mutation, illustrates the role of clinical and molecular genetic resources in assessing young related kidney donors for patients with ADPKD.

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Immunological and chromatographic studies of proteins from the congenital goitre of South Australian Merino sheep revealed that normal thyroglobulin is absent from the thyroid glands of these sheep. However, a thyroglobulin-immunoreactive iodoprotein was isolated by affinity chromatography on agarose gel to which antibody against thyroglobulin had been covalently bound. Sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation indicated that this iodoprotein had a sedimentation coefficient of 8S and a molecular weight of approximately 175000. This iodoprotein is therefore about one quarter the size of normal thyroglobulin (19S; 660000) and is similar in size to the subunit of thyroglobulin (3-8S; 165000) although this has usually been described as non-iodinated except when derived by reductive fission. In addition the goitre extract contained iodoproteins which had the immunological properties of serum albumin and immunoglobulin G. Determination of the iodine and iodoamino acid content of the hydrolysed iodoproteins revealed that they contained iodothyronines which were able to contribute to the production of thyroid hormones although the total iodothyronine content of the goitrous gland was less than that of the normal sheep thyroid gland.