This effort has been directed to prevent the suffering, the heartbreak, the tragedy and the loss that has too often been the outcome of these disorders.
Whereas, earlier generations of young Jewish adults married and started their families not knowing if they were at risk of having a child with Tay-Sachs Disease or Cystic Fibrosis or one of the other Jewish genetic disorders, modern technology now makes it possible to identify the carrier state and to prevent these disorders.
Of those who have been tested in our community-wide large scale screening events, one in five have been found to be carriers for these disorders. These individuals, now aware of their carrier state, are now prepared to avoid the catastrophic outcomes too often the result of Jewish genetic diseases.
Because carrier testing for these disorders is very expensive and typically beyond the reach of most young Jewish adults (and because medical insurance does not routinely provide coverage for this testing), the availability of testing has been possible only with the large subsidies that the Center has made available through the support of our generous donors. With continued support from our community, the Center is prepared to provide carrier testing for every young Jewish person in our community.
At this time, the Center is also directing attention to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer due to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations. One in forty Jewish persons of Eastern European descent is a carrier for one of these mutations and at elevated lifetime risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
The Center is currently developing programs to increase awareness of these hereditary cancers, to provide tools to identify those at increased risk and to provide referral and support for those identified as being at high risk.
We hope that you will find the programs of the Jewish Genetic Diseases Center to be of critical importance to our community. Your support of the Center is very much appreciated.
Sherman Minkoff, M.D.
