Are You Born with Albinism?

Most of the time, someone has albinism because they inherited the gene for it from both their mother and father. Having just one of the genes (being a “carrier") does not give you albinism. Most parents of children with albinism do not have any symptoms.

Can you develop albinism?

With autosomal recessive inheritance, an individual must receive faulty copies of a gene from the mother and father to develop albinism. The parent who carries the gene often does not show symptoms. If both parents carry the gene but have no symptoms, there is a 1 in 4 chance that their offspring will have albinism.

What causes albinism in humans?

Melanin is produced by cells called melanocytes, which are found in your skin, hair and eyes. Albinism is caused by a mutation in one of these genes. Different types of albinism can occur, based mainly on which gene mutation caused the disorder.