Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to the Official Web Site of the Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS) Educational Foundation, Inc. The Foundation is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing support and information to individuals who are affected by Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome, their families, physicians and other practitioners. The Foundation is independent of — and not affiliated with — any particular institution.

The Foundation is organized divisionally into a number of continental groups, with directors for each part of the world represented on the Foundation’s board. These divisions are:

 
• The United States and Canada

• Asia and Africa

• Europe and UK

 
 
• Australia and New Zealand
• Latin America

• Middle East
 
VCFS — also known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Shprintzen Syndrome, DiGeorge Sequence and, regrettably, Catch 22 — is caused by the deletion of a small segment of the long arm of chromosome 22 (specified as 22q11.2 deletion), and is one of the most common genetic disorders in humans. Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome is typically characterized by cleft palate, heart abnormalities, learning disabilities, and over 180 other clinical findings. Please see the VCFS Fact Sheet for details.

The VCFS Educational Foundation, Inc. is committed to educating the lay and professional public by:

• facilitating parent-to-parent networking

• distributing educational materials concerning Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome

• publishing a periodic information newsletter

• hosting an annual conference for laymen and professionals

Much of our material is in PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.