Sophie Ingber, a JScreen intern distributing Manischewitz Cookie Kits at Emory as part of an outreach program with www.jscreen.org and Manischewitz to provide comfort to college students during JScreen Screening events

According to estimates, at least one in every three Ashkenazi Jews worldwide is a carrier for at least one of the hereditary disorders prevalent in the Jewish community. Gaucher disease is the most frequent of these disorders, with one in every 15 Ashkenazi Jews carrying the disease’s genetic mutation. Carriers do not have the medical condition; they only have the gene that can cause it. 

If two carriers for a certain genetic condition have children together, each kid has a 25% chance of having the disease and a 50% chance of becoming a carrier.

For this reason, this holiday season, JScreen, a non-profit initiative committed to preventing genetic diseases, is joining hands with the iconic kosher brand Manischewitz to spread knowledge about the value of genetic screening in family planning. College campuses are the main emphasis, where students may take advantage of genetic testing to help protect the health of their future kids.  

Who needs genetic testing?

Genetic disorders can affect persons of any ethnicity, however, Ashkenazi Jews are more susceptible to several diseases due to particular gene abnormalities.

This predisposition to contract genetic diseases is known by scientists as the “Founder Effect.” A few hundred years ago, several Ashkenazi Jews had genetic alterations. These newly modified genes did not affect the carriers, but passing on mutated genes to their offspring increased the likelihood of hereditary diseases. 

Numerous defective genes, notably the gene GBA1, which causes Gaucher disease, have been handed down through the generations in the Jewish population.

How is the Ashkenazi gene hereditary?

A child has to inherit two mutations for the same disease to get one of the genetic disorders common among Ashkenazi Jews. Genes are coupled in all living things; one gene from the mother and the other from the father make up each pair. Both genes in a pair must be defective for a genetic disorder to be inherited recessively.

A baby born to parents who both share the same gene mutation may have the following outcomes: Each kid born to two carriers of the same disorder will get the mutant gene from both of them. A kid that receives two copies of the defective gene—one from each parent—will not be protected against the disease.

Are Sephardic Jews also at risk for particular genetic diseases?

Many of the prevalent genetic disorders among Jews are also found in Sephardic or Mizrahi groups. In general, Sephardic Jews’ chances of specific diseases differ depending on where they were born. One in ten Jews of Egyptian heritage, for instance, have spinal muscular atrophy as a carrier. For Jews of Persian or Bukharin origin, the risk of Wolman Disease is one in 45. 

The Jewish Genetic Disease Consortium recommends a screening panel of 16 disorders that are more common in Sephardic Jews. Additionally, the Israeli Ministry of Health suggests certain disease tests based on the unique origin community.

Are interfaith couples at risk of genetic disorders?

A Jewish genetic disease carrier is more likely to exist in anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent. These diseases do exist in the broader community, even though they are more common among those of Jewish heritage. 

In the case of an interfaith relationship, experts advise testing the Jewish spouse first. The non-Jewish spouse should get tested for the genetic disorder if the Jewish partner is shown to be a carrier for it.

What if you find out you are a carrier what next

When a couple finds that one or both of them is a carrier of a specific disorder, they have a lot of alternatives. It is up to couples to decide whether to become pregnant and test their unborn kid. The couple can then choose whether or not to end the pregnancy if the fetus tests positive. 

In-vitro fertilization is an additional alternative whereby eggs are fertilized externally and only embryos that demonstrate negative test results for the condition are implanted. In addition, some couples decide to adopt, utilize sperm or eggs from non-carrier donors, or decide not to have children at all.

Are there any ethical concerns with genetic screening?

Some of the treatments prescribed to couples in which both spouses test positive for a certain disorder are deemed problematic under Jewish law, or Halacha. 

Generally speaking, an abortion is only allowed when the mother’s life is in danger, which is not usually the case with hereditary disorders. Usually, carrying such fetuses to term poses little risk to the mother’s health.

Both the Conservative and Reform movements have decided that it is acceptable to end a pregnancy where prenatal testing reveals serious problems in the fetus that would prevent it from having a normal life and if the mother’s mental health would be significantly affected. According to conventional wisdom, abortion is not an option unless the mother’s health is in danger. Because prenatal fetal testing gives no other option than an abortion if a problem is found, Orthodox rabbis often oppose it.

Orthodox communities place a great deal of importance on DNA testing before marriage since they have few other alternatives. Since there is a shame in the Orthodox community for those who are detected, this is frequently done in secret.

Couples considering marriage can submit their samples at JScreen which will report back to them with answers on which partner is a carrier or not.

JScreen and Manischewitz collaboration to make it easier for students to get tested

Through on-site genetic screening activities, JScreen has developed partnerships with student organizations on college campuses for many years. 

Manischewitz has partnered with JScreen to help students on these campuses by sending care packages, or “Comfort Food for the Soul,” during these very trying times for the Jewish community. The Manischewitz compassion packages were initially distributed to Emory University, the home of JScreen.  

Additionally, Manischewitz is making care packages to be sent to students at colleges throughout the country, such as Rutgers, NYU, and Emory. Georgetown, Cornell, and Yeshiva University. Manischewitz Chanukah home kits and Cookie kits are included in the sets.