A genetic carrier is an individual who possesses one copy of a mutated gene that can cause a genetic disorder but does not exhibit symptoms of the disorder themselves. This means they can pass the mutated gene to their offspring, potentially leading to the child inheriting the condition if both parents are carriers. For example, in the case of cystic fibrosis, a person can be a carrier if they have one normal gene and one mutated gene. If two carriers have a child, there is a 25% chance the child will inherit the disorder, a 50% chance they will be a carrier, and a 25% chance they will inherit two normal genes.