Jewish Genetic Disease Inheritance

How Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Diseases are Inherited

 

In each of the cells in our bodies, we have tiny structures called chromosomes. There are thousands of genes on each chromosome. Genes are the basic units of heredity that are passed from parent to child. These genes make up who we are and guide the development of the body. For instance, there are genes for eye and hair color. These genes are in pairs; one is inherited from each parent. Sometimes, changes in genes, called mutations, cause the gene to malfunction and can lead to disease.

The diseases mentioned here are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. This means that affected individuals have two non-working genes. If partners are carriers for the same disease, there is a 25 percent chance of having an affected child, a 50 percent chance of the child being a carrier like themselves, and a 25 percent chance of the child neither being affected nor a carrier.