Resources
Resources for Genetic Screening
Physician’s Offices: Most physicians are able to draw blood for the Jewish genetic disease tests in their office and send it to a laboratory for analysis. The best place to start for most people who wish to get tested is their regular doctor, most often the woman’s OB/GYN. Some physicians have genetic counselors in their practices; others will have genetic counselors to whom they will refer patients who have a positive test result.
Make sure to tell the doctor that you are of Jewish heritage and be as specific as possible about the geographic area(s) your family comes from. You may want to download the JGDC’s list of genetic diseases and bring it with you to your appointment. If you have ever been screened in the past, bring your report with you to your appointment.
Insurance Coverage: Many insurance plans cover testing for Jewish genetic diseases. The physician or genetic laboratory can determine coverage on an individual basis before the test is done. Patients who do not have coverage for testing may be eligible for a reduced-price test. The JGDC also has some resources for couples who are not otherwise able to afford screening. E-mail info@JewishGeneticDiseases.org or call 855.642.6900.
Sephardic/Mizrahi Diseases: As Jew of Ashkenazi background make up the predominance of the U.S. Jewish population, doctors and genetics programs may be more familial with the Ashkenazi Jewish genetic diseases than the Sephardic/Mizrahi Jewish genetic diseases. If you are of Sephardic/Mizrahi background, you may want to look for a program which specializes in these diseases.
Disclaimer: The JGDC does not endorse any of these programs. This list is offered for information purposes only. Please let us know if you have any information which will allow us to correct or add to this list. E-mail info@JewishGeneticDiseases.org or call 855.642.6900.
Hospital-Based Genetics Programs: Many hospitals around the country, especially in larger metropolitan areas, have medical genetics departments and offer genetic testing and counseling. A person who has a known family history of genetic diseases, has had a positive test result in the past, is already pregnant or has had a child with an inherited genetic disease may wish to go directly to one of these hospital programs.
Community and Non-Profit Screening Programs: There are several community and non-profit organizations which offer education and screening, often at a special price. These programs may have eligibility limitations and may not screen for all diseases.
Commercial Laboratories: There are two major national commercial laboratories which do genetic screening. Tests must be ordered by a physician with an account with the lab.
Hospital-Based and Non-Profit Programs
California
UCLA Prenatal Diagnosis Center
300 Medical Plaza, Suite 3102
Los Angeles, CA 90095-6969
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Medical Genetics
444 South San Vicente Bvld., Suite 1001
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.423.9990
Familiarity with Sephardic-Mizrahi genetic diseases
Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Department of Medical Genetics
5275 Claremont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618
510.428.3550
UC Irvine Medical Center
101 The City Drive South, 2ZOT4482
Orange, CA 92868-3298
714.456.5791
UC San Francisco Medical Center
533 Parnassus, U-262
San Francisco, CA 94143
415.476.4808
Stanford Medical Center
Medical Genetics H-315
Department of Pediatrics
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, CA 94305
650.723.5198
Connecticut
Greenwich Hospital/Genzyme Genetics
5 Perryridge Road
Greenwich, CT 06830
203.863.3917
Florida
Victor Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases/Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Mailman Center for Child Development
1601 NW 12th Avenue
PO Box 016820 (D-820)
Miami, FL 33136
305.243.4524
Georgia
Save Babies Through Screening Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 5037
Douglasville, GA 30154
888.454.3383
Illinois
Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases
Ben Gurion Way
30 South Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60606
312.357.4718
Can do Sephardic/Mizrahi testing on a case-by-case basis
Children’s Memorial Hospital
Division of Genetics, Birth Defects and Metabolism
2300 Children’s Plaza No. 59
Chicago, IL 60614-3394
773.880.4462
Reproductive Genetics Institute
2825 North Hastead
Chicago, IL 60637
773.472.4900
They counsel patients there and usually bill them for the counseling.
Blood is sent out to Genzyme or Counsyl.
Maryland
Jewish Family Services Genetic Education & Screening Project
5750 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
410.542.6300 x150
Massachusetts
Boston University School of Medicine
Center for Human Genetics
700 Albany Street, Ste. W408
Boston, MA 02118
Genzyme Genetics Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory
3400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01518
800.255.7357
Samples sent to Genzyme they do not collect samples
Tufts Medical Center Floating Hospital for Children
Division of Genetics
800 Washington St., 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02111
617.636.7721 Victor Program questions
617.636.8100 Appointments
Michigan
Henry Ford Hospital
Department of Medical Genetics
2799 West Grand Blvd., CFP-4
Detroit, MI 48202
313.916.3188
Minnesota
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905
507.284.8198 Clinical Genetics
800.533.1710 Genetics Laboratory
New Jersey
Hackensack University Medical Center
Genetics & Genetics Counseling Program
30 Prospect Avenue
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201.996.5264
UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School
Institute of Genomic Medicine
185 South Orange Avenue
Medical Science Bldg., F-656
Newark, NJ 07103
973.972.3170
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center
703 Main Street
Patterson, NJ 07503
973.754.2727
New York
Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Reproductive Genetics Division
1695 Eastchester Road, Suite 301
Bronx, NY 10461
718.405.8150
New York Methodist Hospital
Jewish Genetic Screening Program
506 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11213
718.780.556
Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Diseases
Dor Yeshorim
429 Wythe Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 1211
718.384.2332
North Shore Long Island Jewish
Medical Genetics Office
1554 Northern Blvd., Suite 204
Manhasset, NY
516.365.3996
Familiarity with Sephardic/Askenazi diseases
Mount Sinai Medical Center
Genetic Testing Laboratory
One Gustave L. Levy Place
New York, NY 10029
New York University Medical Center
Human Genetics Program
MSB 136
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212.263.7621
Beth Israel Medical Center
Division of Medical Genetics
350 East 17th Street, Suite 6BH10
New York, NY 10003
212.420.4179
Columbia University Medical Center
Division of Medical Genetics
3959 Broadway
CHN 6-601A
New York, NY 10032
212.305.6731
Weill Cornell Physicians
Pediatric Medical Genetics
505 East 70th St.
Helmsley Tower, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10021
646.962.2205
Westchester Medical Center
Regional Medical Genetics Center
503 Grasslands Rd., Suite 200
Valhalla, NY 10595
914.304.5300
Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo
Division of Genetics
140 Hodge Avenue, Room 166
Buffalo, NY 14222-2034
716.878.7530
Ohio
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Division of Human Genetics
3333 Burnet Avenue
Cincinatti, OH 45229-3026
800.344.CHMC x64760
Oregon
Oregon Health Sciences University
Biochemical Genetics Laboratory
Portland, OR 97201
503.494.2400
Pennsylvania
Victor Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases/Albert Einstein Medical Center
5501 Old York Road
Levy 2 West
Philadelphia, PA 19141
Thomas Jefferson University
Tay-Sachs Prevention Program
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215.955.8320
Texas
Baylor Medical Genetics Laboratories
Baylor College of Medicine – NAB 2015
One Baylor Plaza
Houston, TX 77030
800.411.GENE
Lab only runs the test
Virginia
Genetics & IVF Institute – Molecular Genetics Laboratory
Fairfax, VA 22031
800.654.4363
Commercial Labs
Tests must be ordered by a physician with an account with the lab.
Quest Diagnostics: 800-377-8448
Bloom Syndrome, Canavan Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Familial Dysautonomia, Fanconi Anemia Type C, Gaucher Disease Type 1, Glycogen Storage Disorder Type 1A, Maple Syrup Urine Disease, Mucolipidosis Type 4, Nieman-Pick Type A, Tay-Sachs Disease (DNA Mutation)
Laboratory Corporation of America: 800-LABCORP
Bloom Syndrome, Canavan Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Familial Dysautonomia, Fanconi Anemia Type C, Gaucher Disease Type 1, Glycogen Storage Disorder Type 1A, Maple Syrup Urine, Disease, Mucolipidosis Type 4, Nieman-Pick Disease Type A, Tay-Sachs Disease (DNA and leukocyte)
JGDC Member Organizations
Bloom’s Syndrome Foundation
(323) 933-4670 www.bloomssyndrome.org
Canavan Foundation
(877) 4-CANAVAN or (212) 873-4640 www.canavanfoundation.org
Canavan Research Foundation
(203) 746-2436 www.canavan.org
Jacob’s Cure
(914) 673-2796 www.jacobscure.org
The Children’s Fund for Glycogen Storage Disease Research
(203)-272-CURE (2873) www.curegsd.org
National Gaucher Foundation
(800) 925-8885 www.gaucherdisease.org
ML4 Foundation
(718) 434-5067 www.ML4.org
Mathew Forbes Romer Foundation
(561) 477-0337 www.mfrfoundation.org
National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association New York Area, Inc.
(212) 431-0431 or (888) 354-7788 www.ntsad-ny.org
Genetic Disease Foundation
(212) 659-6704 www.GeneticDiseaseFoundation.org
Sephardic Health Organization for Referral and Education (SHORE)
http://shoreforlife.org/index.html
JGDC visual identity and website: Marc Zaref Design, Inc. www.marczarefdesign.com
