NCJWC has been a leader in creating awareness of Jewish genetic diseases. The mandate is to educate people within the Jewish community.
Some inherited diseases result when both parents silently carry the same recessive genetic trait. All couples with ANY Jewish ancestry, including interfaith couples, should be screened for all Jewish genetic diseases to determine their carrier status when planning a family. Approximately one in four people in the Ashkenazi Jewish population is a carrier of a Jewish genetic disease. A blood test can determine your carrier status.
Doctors and rabbis distribute brochures to assist in educating their patients and congregants about the importance of screening.
Jewish Genetic Diseases Awareness Week was officially launched in 2012. This was a joint project of NCJWC-Toronto Section, the Department of Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics at Mount Sinai Hospital, The Canadian Foundation for Control of Neurodegenerative Disease. Dysautonomia Foundation Inc – Jacob’s Ladder, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Fanconi Canada.
Genetic Screening Tests are done for:
- Tay-Sachs Disease
- Canavan Disease
- Familial Dysautonomia
- Niemann-Pick Disease Type A
- Bloom Syndrome
- Fanconi Anemia Type C
- Mucolipidosis IV
Your monetary donations for Jewish Genetic Awareness Program can be made through National Council of Jewish Women of Canada.
For further enquiries please call 1-866-625.9274 or email info@ncjwctoronto.org
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