Glee Season 1: Sectionals
Is Quinn's baby at risk for Tay-Sachs?
Rachel gets it all wrong.
Source: http://www.projectshui.com/Glee_Quinn...
In
this clip from Glee, Episode 1 "Sectionals", Rachel is mischievously
trying to figure out if Puck, who is Jewish, is the father of Quinn's
baby. She asks Quinn if she's been tested for Tay-Sachs and incorrectly
informs her that only Jews carry the gene for Tay-Sachs. Her ploy works
and Rachel figures out that Puck is in fact the father. However, in
the process, Rachel unfortunately misinforms the viewers about
Tay-Sachs.
Ashkenazi Jews do have an increased carrier rate for
Tay-Sachs of 1: 27 (One in every 27 Ashkenazi Jews is a carrier for the
gene), but so do French Canadians and Lousiana Cajuns. 1 in 50 Irish
Americans is a carrier, which is also very high. In the general
population, 1 in 250 people is a carrier for the gene.
Given that
Quinn is an Irish name, it is possible, if she is from Irish decent,
that Quinn is the one at increased risk for Tay-Sachs (1 in 50 chance).
While Puck, who appears to have more of a Sephardic Jewish look (as
opposed to Ashenazi Jewish), could have the much lower 'general
population' risk of 1 in 250.
Either way, given the possible
combined heritage of Irish and Jewish, Quinn's baby has a Significantly
Higher risk of having Tay-Sachs than the average baby. If one parent is a
carrier, the baby has a 50% chance of being an unaffected carrier. If
both parents are carriers, the baby has a 25% chance of having Tay-Sachs
disease.
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