50 | OCTOBER 12 • 2023 J
N

D

uring the 1970s, Jewish baby boomers were urged to 
get a new genetic screening test for Tay-Sachs, a fatal 
disease that is more common among Ashkenazi Jews. 
The test analyzed blood enzymes to look for the recessive 
gene that may cause Tay-Sachs when both parents 
carry it. There is no treatment for Tay-Sachs and 
children usually die at a very early age.
Melanie Hardy, who has master’s degrees in 
biology and genetic counseling, is director of 
genetic counseling for JScreen, a national non-
profit organization that is a public health initiative 
of Emory University’s School of Medicine. She 
says that community-based carrier screenings 
have resulted in a 90% decline in Tay-Sachs. 
“
A lot of rabbis do great education for the testing, and there 
have been a lot of screenings on college campuses,” Hardy 
adds.
However, there are still a small number of Jewish individu-
als who carry the Tay-Sachs gene and may pass it on to their 
children. The disease is also more prevalent among Amish 
and French-Canadian Cajuns than in the general population.

WOMEN’S HEALTH

JScreen offers testing for Tay-Sachs 
and other inherited diseases.

Knowledge 
Is Power

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Melanie 
Hardy