Opinion
My genetic testing experience - tea and biscuits included
I was nervous beforehand but the experience could not have been easier
November 24, 2016 12:01
2 min read
I was nervous beforehand but the experience could not have been easier
November 24, 2016 12:01I sneaked into the building under cover of darkness, having left the car primed for a quick getaway. We would go in, speak to as few people as possible and get out again.
It was not that I thought participating in a Jnetics screening for genetic diseases more prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews was a dirty secret. But there was something about it that made me wince slightly.
No one likes confronting the grisly business of disease, death, or impending disaster. But a year on, I admit my approach was unnecessarily dramatic.
My wife had been more relaxed about the screening. She knew most of the staff and chatted amiably with them as I sat quietly, nervously, slightly aloof from the other participants in the corridor of the Jewish primary school which had been converted into an impromptu medical centre.
Looking around, I recognised a pair of newly-weds we knew, then another and another. It was turning into a social gathering.
How do you put a price on the health of your future offspring?
The two of us were shepherded into a hall to speak to a nurse, who quietly and calmly explained the different genetic disorders for which I would be tested.
As my wife has Sephardi heritage, we had decided I would be tested first. She would have her blood taken only in the unfortunate event of my test bringing bad news.
I will leave the technical bits to the specialists. But essentially, both parents must be carriers of a disorder to put a future embryo at risk - and that is a greater possibilty for Ashkenazim.
Although the £190 cost is not inconsiderable, how do you put a price on the health of your future offspring? If someone is found to be a carrier, the NHS will cover their partner being tested for the same disorder.
I went through to the testing bay for the quick and painless blood test. It really could not have been easier. After a cup of tea and a few biscuits - this was a Jew-do, remember - we were out.
When the results arrived in the post a few weeks later, the news was all good. I was not a carrier of any of the nine disorders covered by the programme.
And so that was it - a cheque, a quick blood test, and for us, thankfully, nothing to worry about.
When planning a wedding, you spend endless hours thinking about every material detail - the outfits, the flowers, the meal.
But there are things that will be of far greater importance in years to come.
It is absolutely essential that as a community, we take genetic testing seriously.
A taboo is only a taboo for as long as we are complicit in making it so. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we need to quickly extend the Jnetics screening programme throughout British Jewry.
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