“We try to be fun and proactive on
social media and make it very cool and
catchy,” Regelman said. “Obviously, it’s
a very serious topic, but we do it in a
very easy-to-digest way.”
In the 1970s, when the Ashkenazi
Jewish community brought the con-
cern of Tay-Sachs to the forefront,
genetic screening — though much
more limited to what is done today —
became heavily encouraged, Regelman
said. For the children and grandchil-
dren of this generation, the severity
of Tay-Sachs 50 years ago has been
largely forgotten, mostly thanks to the
extensive push for genetic testing, but
it remains a relevant practice for to-be
parents. is indicative of people being “open and
willing and interested” in their health.

However, for Center City residents
Charles Schnur and Brenna Stein, going
through extensive genetics screenings
illuminated troubles in the process that
the couple hopes young, to-be parents
won’t have to deal with in the future.

Both Schnur and Stein are heavy pro-
ponents of speaking about their experi-
ence doing genetic testing and believe it
was the right call for them but recognize
that, especially in COVID times, going
to the doctor was a hassle. Moreover,
COVID has revealed how people think
about their own risk. When they
received the results of their testing,
Schnur and Stein had a one in 3,000
“Now that we’re
post-COVID, people are
jumping at the opportunity
to make sure that they’re
in good health.”
DR. CHANI YONDORF
“We really try to get people where
they are because everyone is just not
going to hear about us at their syna-
gogue,” Regelman said.

Though Regelman’s concerns about
getting young people tested aren’t
unfounded, it appears that her fears
may not come to fruition.

Dr. Chani Yondorf, part of Einstein
Healthcare Network’s Prevention of
Jewish Genetic Diseases service, has
noticed patients approach her about
genetic testing now that COVID case
numbers have leveled off.

“Now that we’re post-COVID, peo-
ple are jumping at the opportunity to
make sure that they’re in good health,”
she said.

This phenomenon isn’t specific to
genetic screening, Yondorf said, but it
chance of their child having Tay-Sachs.

“Think about the way that people
are thinking about COVID right now,”
Stein said. “The way people are making
decisions is based on fear or emotions,
not statistics.”
Though services such as JScreen
and Einstein Healthcare encourage or
require a genetic counselor to discuss
test results with a couple, the lack of
plain language and risk analysis that
is sometimes associated with genetic
testing remains a concern, the couple
believes. “Medical terms sound scary; all
these things sound scary,” Stein said.

“We need to work harder on making
this stuff less scary.” JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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