It is a fact that certain genetic diseases are more prone to show up in specific races. So it is with Tay-Sachs and some associated conditions.

The Victor Center at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia has released an article to the Jewish Times of South Jersey about the need for Jewish couples to have genetic testing when getting married.

One in five people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are a carrier of one of several diseases that can be tragic. They can include Tay-Sachs, Familial Dysautonomia, Canavan disease, Gaucher disease and Bloom Syndrome among other disorders. These disorders can cause death in early childhood as well as life-long dependent care. Probably the least serious is Tay-Sachs.

Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of Jews who came from Germany, Poland, Austria and Eastern Europe. Ashkenaz is a Hebrew term for Germany.

There is an overwhelming reason for having the screen in particular if both people are carrying the gene because one in four births end up with an affected child. Further, the test is a very simple blood test.

It is a challenge for some young couples to have the full-panel blood screen because it costs $3,000 which is not always easy to come up with when you are also dealing with the costs of a wedding.

Tay-Sachs is a fatal condition in which harmful amounts of liquid fatty substances called ganglioside GM2 are built up in tissue and nerve cells. This situation occurs in infants who start life with the promise of normalcy. However as the fatty substances build up, their bodily functions slowly cease.

It is recommended that people who are getting married get tested even if their parents were tested and were found to be negative for the gene. It just isn't worth the chance.

If there is a way to rule out a future problem in advance it certainly makes sense especially if it is as severe as this grouping of illnesses. Further, it is much easier to go through in a non-stress filled situation.

I can attest to that. After not being able to have children for awhile my wife and I had to have testing and even something like that which is comparatively benign is hard to go through.

So on the wedding "to-do" list being screened is a smart thing to do.