Dor Yeshorim - Methods

Methods

Dor Yeshorim advocates anonymous testing. Individuals are tested during large sessions in Jewish schools and processed anonymously with only a PIN linking the sample with the candidate.

At present, testing is offered for the following disorders:

• Tay-Sachs disease
• Familial dysautonomia
• Cystic fibrosis
• Canavan disease
• Glycogen storage disease (type 1)
• Fanconi anemia (type C)
• Bloom syndrome
• Niemann–Pick disease
• Mucolipidosis (type IV)
• Gaucher's disease (only by request)

When two members of the system contemplate marriage, they contact the organization and enter both their PINs. When both carry a gene for the same disorder, the risk of affected offspring is 25%, and it is considered advisable to discontinue the plans. In the context of shidduchim, the "carriership check" is often run within the first three dates, to avoid disappointments and heartbreak. Ideally, it should be checked prior to the first date, as there are no charges applied to any particular query. Some couples wait until the third through fifth date because of the perception that participants go on too many first dates to make a pre-first date query viable and asking for a check after a first date indicates that the requester is over enthusiastic about the match.