World Down Syndrome Day Date in the current year: March 21, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. This observance was started by a medical geneticist, and later became one of the UN international days.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder, that is caused by naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement. This disorder has always been a part of human history and it's universal across gender, racial and socioeconomic lines. It affects approximately 1 in 800 births, although significant variations occur worldwide.

World Down Syndrome Day was proposed by medical geneticist Stylianos E. Antonaraki of the University of Geneva Medical School. The observance was adopted by a patient group ART21 in the Lemanic region of Switzerland. The first celebration of World Down Syndrome was organized on March 21, 2006 in Geneva.

UN adopted the observation on December 19, 2011 and declared March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day. It became one of the UN international days in 2012. The date for the observation was chosen on March 21 since its decimal depiction (3/21) reflects the triplication of the 21st chromosome, causing Down Syndrome.

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UN Observances

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world down syndrome day, un international day, down syndrome, genetic disorder