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A Little From Mom, A Little From Dad

I pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Life Sciences and a Master’s Degree in a program dedicated to genetic counseling. The seeds for my career in this field were planted by my father, the scientist Prof. Dani Ofan, who when he talks about science you can see the sparkle in his eyes.

My mother is an educational counselor, and I was inspired by her.

In my work I have sought to combine science with direct contact with people, and genetic counseling perfectly blends science with care.

Making Informed Decisions

My work focuses on the field of “prenatal diagnosis.” I meet daily with couples who have been referred to our service due to abnormal results from one of the tests performed during pregnancy. They are often in a state of distress and deep uncertainty. At the genetic institute, we analyze the results, cross-reference information, and present the couple with the medical implications and information.

We advise them on additional genetic tests that can be performed to gain more information, so that they can make an informed decision about whether to continue the pregnancy or not. Our guiding principle is “non-directive genetic counseling,” meaning we provide the explanation and options, but the couple is the one who makes the ultimate decision. Sometimes people believe that genetic counseling automatically leads to abortion, but the reality is very different.

Abortion is the last resort. Counseling provides variety of optional tools that can help the couples reach more accurate diagnoses and often provide them with effective treatments in place of abortion.

Being There For the Exciting Moments

Through advances in science, we can now help people who, just a decade ago, we could not help. One woman who came to me for counseling had two late-term pregnancy losses due to brain defects in the fetus which were discovered at a late stage. We conducted all the genetic testing available to us in 2013, and we didn’t find a genetic cause. The woman fell into a state of deep depression and barely left her house for almost 8 years. In 2021, when next-generation sequencing technology became accessible, we revisited the DNA of those two fetuses, identified the genetic cause, and found that the recurrence risk was 50%. With in vitro fertilization, we selected embryos that didn’t carry the genetic mutation, and last year she gave birth to a girl. Every year, she sends me a picture of her daughter, and for me it’s truly a sense of immense satisfaction.

The Optimistic Side of Marriage

In my work, I meet couples facing difficult times. I know that my profession brings real benefits by preventing severe diseases. But at the same time, I felt the needed to find myself and focus a little on the excitement, joy, and renewal of couples before marriage and to help position the topic of positive relationships at the center of our own private homes and lives.

That’s how we came to Tzohar. For the past 11 years, my husband Yonatan and I have been instructing and counseling couples together. We feel that the very act of working with other couples, places our own relationship at the center. The dialogue we share with others benefits us. Tzohar continually strives to innovate and find new directions, providing us with more and more options and layers of knowledge, and the feeling is that we must never remain still, but always moving forward. We work with secular couples, and we feel that this is a great privilege, especially in these challenging times.

Beyond Napkins and Decorations

We meet couples during one of the most stressful times in their lives, and we tell them that before focusing on the decorations and napkins, it’s important to talk about the foundation of marriage and about the connection that brought them together. It’s easy to get caught up in the technical details, but we say that they need to stop for a moment and re-dedicate time to the relationship itself. Together, we study the first chapter of the Torah, where the first couple, Adam and Eve meet in humanity’s first real relationship. This conversation opens up many topics – connection, longing, yearning, dealing with distance. We focus less on purity and impurity, and more on closeness and yearning. Marriage in 2024 requires constant renewal and dedicating time to one another.

Simply Doing

Sometimes I’m asked whether my profession contradicts religion. So I’ll end with a quote from Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, head of the ethics department at Tzohar: “God created the world – to act!” And He commands us, within the framework of Jewish law, to do everything that fixes the world and prevents suffering and pain, for this is the way of the world – to operate within the natural order. I thank God for the privilege of being in this profession, and I pray to be a faithful messenger.

Photo Credit: Aric Sultan