Down's syndrome a genetic disorder is due to the presence of an extra chromosome 21 also known as trisomy of chromosome 21 . Related Theory Down's syndrome is caused due to abnormal cell division. During mitotic and meiotic cell division the chromosome pair separate so that each cell gets the copy of each chromosome. In Down syndrome, the chromosomes are not able to separate, giving rise to cells with an unequal number of chromosomes (nondisjunction).