Genetic Testing

I started the process of IUI over a year ago, and at the time, I remember a brief discussion as to whether Tay Sachs should be screened. Once it was determined that Tay Sachs (a Jewish Ashkenazic trait) would be ruled out in the sperm donor, I chose not to do that test. Other genetic testing - as Ashkenazic Jews carry tons of recessive and dangerous genetic diseases - was not discussed nor suggested at the time.

Yesterday, at the first visit to my OB GYN, Dr. Dani wished very much for me to do some baseline Ashkenazi genetic testing. In other words, now that I have a child growing inside me with no real intention to take extreme action against the fetus, I should check and see if I maybe possibly could have passed down some recessive gene, that may or may not manifest at some point in this child's life.

Add to that, this service is not at all covered by the HMO, and each individual genetic test costs; there is no Ashkenazi group package.

Other than Tay Sachs, which is a free test and not of real concern to me, I am tending toward a big "No" on this one. What good will it do me to know who I am, 40 years into my life, when the baby growing inside me is a feta complet. This testing should have been done before I even started the fertility process.

Having spoken to my parents and been informed that my grandfather's sister had children with Cystic Fibrosis, I am considering doing that one test, even though it represents a long shot, and there is not telling if it came from her husband's side, rather than our genetic chain.