Who Can Get PKU?
All people with PKU are born with it. PKU is an inherited condition, meaning that it is passed through families. People with PKU have two non-working PKU genes. A gene is like a blueprint for a chemical that the body needs. To have a child with PKU, each parent must have a non-working PKU gene and pass it on through egg and sperm to their child. Carriers have one PKU gene and are healthy (they rarely know they are carriers!), but have a chance for passing that gene on to their children. Many kids with PKU have no other family members who have PKU, but many family members who are healthy carriers.
A parent or child can't cause or prevent PKU. We have no control over the genes that are contained in our bodies or inherited from our parents All of us even those without PKU carry genes for serious diseases. However, most of us will never know this unless we have children with someone with the same disease gene, and our child inherits this gene from both of us.
Males and females of any race can have PKU. It is more common in families who have ancestors from Northern Europe.
