Case Studies

Annette & Tom

View the video of Annette & Tom

Annette and Tom, a young Jewish couple, are glad that they were tested to determine their individual carrier status for Tay Sachs disease.

"I would like every young Jewish person to get tested. I had a Tay Sachs test done before embarking on pregnancy and I found out I was positive" says Annette.

"I spoke to my doctor who assured me that it didn’t have any effect on my health whatsoever, it’s just that I had certain genes which could pass on the disease."

Annette says to anybody who is worried about being positive, that their own health is not the concern - "your health is not in jeopardy at all." She believes that the most important thing is to ensure your partner is also tested straight away.

Fortunately her partner Tom’s test proved negative. This meant that there was no possibility of them conceiving a baby with Tay Sachs.

"I think it is important, though, that having acknowledged that Annette was positive, it didn’t change my feelings towards her in any way at all."

"It occurred to me when we were going through the testing process that it was far too easy to say no for a man. It was just like contraception - leave it to the woman and it will sort itself out."

"It just isn’t the case, and it shouldn’t be, and I now realise how wrong I was. It’s the man’s responsibility as much as the woman’s, to make sure the family is free of Tay Sachs."