The past decade has seen the emergence of a brand new theme in healthcare policy dedicated to the diagnosis and management of rare disorders. 80% of rare diseases are genetic in origin and many cause chronic debilitating symptom. Rare disorders often present at an early age, with 30 minutes of affected patients dying before the age of 5 years. Patients with rare diseases also suffer from delays in diagnosis due to a lack of medical knowledge and poor awareness of these conditions which contributes to a considerable social and financial burden for affected individuals as well as their families and care-givers.
