Download Talking to Couples about Genetic Screening

Talking to Couples about Genetic Screening
JScreen is a national, not-for-profit, at-home education and carrier screening program for
Jewish genetic diseases. The goal of the program is to give families with Jewish ancestry easy
access to information and genetic counseling, and the ability to test conveniently from home on
saliva samples.
How does JScreen work?
Screening is done on a saliva sample that the participant collects in the privacy of their own
home and ships to the testing laboratory. Genetic testing is done on DNA from the saliva
sample. If you’re identified as a carrier for any of the diseases, you will participate in a followup telephone counseling session with a genetic counselor or other health-care provider.
What does the Jscreen test include?
JScreen genetic testing includes a panel of 19+ diseases that are common in the Ashkenazi
Jewish population. As an enhanced option, you can also choose the expanded panel to learn
whether you carry other disease genes seen in the general population. The expanded panel
includes more than 80 genetic conditions. For either panel, JScreen offers two different testing
methods. Genotyping, the standard of care for carrier screening, involves "spot checking" for
common changes (mutations) in a gene. Sequencing, a newer technology, looks at the whole
gene and will detect an even higher percentage of carriers.
When should I get screened?
The best time to get screened is before you or your partner becomes pregnant. It is also
important to update screening before each pregnancy, as new diseases may be added to the
screening panels over time.
If my results show I’m a carrier, will I get the disease?
No, carriers will not develop the disease. For the conditions on our screening panels, a person
must have two copies of the gene, one from each parent, to have the condition.
How much does genetic testing with JScreen cost?
If you have commercial medical insurance, you will pay no more than $99 for the genotyping
test and no more than $299 for the sequencing test, regardless of whether you choose the
Jewish or expanded panel.
We want to engage everyone in this easy, convenient and affordable way to plan for a healthy
future. We encourage couples of child-bearing age, parents, grandparents, siblings and friends
to visit our website at www.jscreen.org to find out how they can participate in the JScreen
movement.