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Everything You Need to Know about Jewish Genetic Carrier Screening {with JScreen}

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Here at Smashing The Glass, we’re passionate about genetic carrier screening. If you’ve started thinking about growing your family, it’s something you might have heard of. You may even have considered getting screened yourself. But we’re well aware that the process can seem intimidating, expensive, and scary. It doesn’t have to be any of those things, though! Knowing whether you’re a carrier for any genetic diseases – and what your options are going forward if it turns out you are – is actually really empowering!
 
That’s why I’m so excited to tell you that this Tuesday, February 2, at 9:00 am PDT / 12:00 pm EDT / 5:00 pm GDT, I’ll be chatting on Facebook with Hillary Kener Regelman, Director of National Outreach at JScreen, a US-based not-for-profit at-home education and carrier screening program for Jewish genetic diseases.
 

GET EMPOWERED

Hillary spoke with us this past July, and we had such an informative, empowering conversation about what JScreen does, how genetic carrier screening works, and what all this might mean for you. We wanted to make sure all the newly engaged couples are able to benefit from her knowledge, so we’re bringing her back – plus, she’ll be filling us in on some recent updates as JScreen continues to expand their testing repertoire (including testing for cancer susceptibility genes like BRCA).
 
JScreen‘s mission is to give individuals and families easy access to information convenient home testing (so you can get the process started even in lockdown) at a reasonable price point. Screening for over 200 genetic diseases – including those that are commonly found in Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jewish populations – is performed by a certified laboratory and results are reviewed and reported to participants by genetic counselors, so if it turns out you are a carrier for a disease, your counselor will be there to talk you through the options (and there ARE options!).
 

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Get Screened for Jewish Genetic Disorders in the UK with Jnetics

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 Here at Team STG, we’re passionate about Jewish genetic carrier screening. I know it’s probably not at the top of anyone’s wedding planning to-do list – but if you and your partner think children might be in your future, it should be! A simple saliva test can go so far toward ensuring the two of you start the healthy family of your dreams – and while the process of getting screened can seem daunting and even scary, I promise it really isn’t!

That’s why we’re so excited to be sharing the following post from our friends at Jnetics, a UK-based charity that provides accessible carrier screening for some of the genetic diseases most common among Jewish populations. They’ve demystified the screening process from start to finish, so you can take the first step toward taking control of your future family’s health. 

If you’re in the UK and planning to start a family within the next few years, read on to learn more about who they are, what they do, how you and your partner can get tested – and, most importantly, why you should. 

“We recently got engaged and it was really important for us to have the screening test. Due to COVID-19, the test was conducted through Zoom and the test components were sent to our home address. The whole process was really easy, and we would recommend taking the test through Jnetics.” -Natalia and Daniel, recently engaged

What is Jnetics?

Jnetics is a UK-based charity that tests for life-threatening Jewish genetic disorders (JGDs). We are the only organisation dedicated to improving the management and prevention of these disorders in the UK. We focus on recessive genetic conditions that, although not exclusively Jewish, have a significant impact on the lives and well-being of Jewish people.

Our mission is to eliminate new cases of these devastating disorders from the Jewish community by providing accessible carrier screening to all young Jewish adults. Our hope is that genetic screening becomes standard practice, thereby erasing these conditions and saving a countless number of lives.

It is important that anyone who is planning on having children, either now or in the future, get screened in order to make informed health decisions that can prevent them from passing on a devastating genetic illness to their child.

“We were always aware of the importance of getting screened being both from an Ashkenazi heritage, and Jnetics made it easy, even in Covid-19 times! The team was really communicative and very quick at responding to emails, explaining the process, setting up zoom calls and organizing getting tested.” -Jodie and Yehudah, recently engaged

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Everything You Need to Know about Jewish Genetic Carrier Screening {Facebook Recap with JScreen}

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I’m so excited to share with you my latest Facebook Live with Hillary Kener Regelman, Director of National Outreach at JScreen, a US-based not-for-profit at-home education and carrier screening program for Jewish genetic diseases.Jewish genetic screening is SUCH an important topic for every couple thinking of having children, and I’m so glad Hillary was able to help demystify the process.

I admit it isn’t something I knew much about before speaking with Hillary, but after chatting with her I see both how essential testing is to every couple’s family planning process AND how easy and accessible JScreen has made it. They’re on a mission to put genetic screening on every prospective parent’s radar and to clear up the misconceptions so many of us have about the process – and after chatting with Hillary, I’m totally convinced that, as she says, genetic screening should be an essential item on every couple’s wedding checklist.  

What is genetic carrier screening?

Hillary started off by explaining exactly what genetic carrier screening is – and isn’t. It’s not a diagnostic test. Rather, JScreen’s testing lets people know if they are healthy carriers of genetic diseases who have mutations that they could pass on to their children.

Who should get screened?

While genetic screening is sometimes thought of as something relevant only to Ashkenazi Jews, the truth is that everyone planning on having children should get screened, regardless of background (and, as far as Jewish genetic diseases go, there are plenty that affect Sephardi and Mizrahi populations too).

JScreen offers a pan-ethnic panel, testing for all kinds of genetic diseases, not just those common among Jews – so it’s very much worth screening if one or both of you are not ethnically Jewish.

And even if your parents did testing, it’s still important to do it yourself before starting a family, since so many more diseases are testable today than even five years ago (which means that if you yourself were screened a number of years ago, it’s worth considering retesting with JScreen).

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