Happy Chanukah - The Jewish Georgian

November-December 2011 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 41
Gene Screen
From page 39
every prospective Jewish parent has one
simple blood test, we can make sure Eden’s
story does not happen again.”
Touched by their story, Atlanta philanthropist
Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The
Home Depot and head of The Marcus
Foundation, funded Atlanta Jewish Gene
Screen, in partnership
with the Victor
Center, to help
ensure healthy children
for the Jews of
Atlanta. AJGS provides
community
and office screenings
and counseling
and educates healthcare
professionals,
clergy, and individuals
on the need for
pre-conception
screening with a
simple blood test for
all 19 genetic diseases.
Individuals of every ethnic group may
be carriers of recessive genetic diseases.
But they have no way of knowing other
than by giving birth to an affected child or
being tested, since their own health is not
affected, and they may not have a family
history of these diseases. However, Jews of
Eastern and Central Europe carry a high
risk for passing along any of the 19 identified
and often life-threatening diseases to
their offspring. These diseases range from
the familiar Tay-Sachs to lesser-known diseases,
such as Walker-Warburg syndrome
and nemaline myopathy. Many of these diseases
are fatal, all are incurable, and only a
few have limited treatment.
According to Karen Grinzaid, genetic
counselor/research coordinator of the
Department of Human Genetics at Emory
School of Medicine,
“Every hereditary trait
in a child—from eye
color to height—is
influenced by the genes
that are passed from
parent to child. If both
parents are carriers for
the same abnormal
gene, there is a 25 percent
chance with each
pregnancy for a genetic
disease to occur. That
said, Ashkenazi Jews
are at the highest risk
of any ethnic group for
carrying any of these
19 recessive genetic diseases.”
A simple blood test is all that is necessary
to screen for the current Jewish genetic
disease panel of 19, and all at-risk individuals,
including interfaith couples, should
be screened, with the Jewish partner being
screened first. Couples should be screened
prior to each pregnancy, since with
advances in testing, the list of known genetic
diseases for which screening is available
is constantly being expanded.
Recently, a new free interactive Gene
Screen app was made available for anyone,
Jewish or non-Jewish, who wants to learn
about genetic diseases and their recessive
inheritance patterns. It can be downloaded
from iTunes to any iPhone or iPad device.
Produced by Dolan DNA Lab in partnership
with the Victor Center and funded by
The Marcus Foundation, the Gene Screen
app was developed as a learning tool with a
“prevalence calculator” to determine carrier
frequencies of 28 specific diseases and an
ancestry map that allows users to zoom,
scroll, or tap to discover which genetic diseases
are more common in the regions from
which their ancestors came.
On November 13, a community-wide
screening was conducted at the Marcus
Jewish Community Center of Atlanta,
Zaban Park. Upcoming screenings are
January 22, 2012, at Temple Koth Emeth;
February 26 and 27, 2012, at The Temple;
March 25, 2012, at Congregation Or
Hadash; and April 29, at Young Israel of
Toco Hills. For registration and other information,
visit www.atlantajewishgenescreen.org.
To ask experts about genetic
diseases and how they can be prevented,
visit www.jewishgeneticanswers.org.
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