JScreen’s 4th Annual Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week

JScreen, a national non-profit public health initiative dedicated to preventing genetic diseases, announces the fourth annual Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week, which takes place from Feb. 5-11. Initiated in 2020 with organizational partners across the nation, JGSAW serves to educate the community about the importance of screening for genetic diseases and to raise awareness about testing resources. Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week was officially recognized in the morning orders by the Georgia State Legislature, according to the Proclamation Declaring Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week. The goal for JGSAW is to continue to drive awareness about the importance of genetic testing to encourage more people to get screened and to gain the support of donors who make JScreen possible.

Now in its 10th year, JScreen makes genetic testing simple, accessible, and affordable with its easy-to-use at-home saliva kits. JScreen’s reproductive test gives prospective parents a deep understanding of their genetic makeup and the risk of having a child with a genetic disease. If a couple’s risk is elevated, genetic counselors privately address their results by phone or video teleconference and provide options to help them plan for the health of their future children. JScreen’s cancer genetic test alerts a person to their risk for hereditary cancer. Anyone with positive results can take action for the prevention or early detection of many common cancers. By providing convenient at-home access to cutting-edge genetic testing technology, patient education and genetic counseling services, JScreen strives to prevent devastating genetic diseases and ensure a healthy future for all.

“Our No. 1 goal is to ensure generations of healthy children and adults by preventing genetic diseases and hereditary cancer. The more people we educate and test, the closer we are to achieving our goal,” says Karen Arnovitz Grinzaid, executive director of JScreen.

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Eighty percent of babies with genetic diseases are born to parents with no known history of that disease. Through early genetic screening, potential parents can determine the risk of having a child with a genetic disease before pregnancy, giving them options for family planning and helping to ensure the health of their future children. Approximately 10 percent of cancers are hereditary, meaning they are related to genetic changes that are passed down in a family. Cancer genetic testing identifies people who are at risk so they can take action to prevent cancer or detect it at an early, treatable stage.

During JGSAW, JScreen is offering a $72-off coupon code. People can register for testing at www.jscreen.org and use code JGSAW23 at checkout to receive the discount. For more information about JScreen testing and to become a donor, please visit www.jscreen.org.