Awareness about premarital health tests 'improving'

Sharjah: More than 4,600 people underwent comprehensive premarital health screening in the emirate during the past 11 months, WAM has reported.

It said more people are now becoming aware of the importance of the screening, which includes examining their medical history, a physical check-up and laboratory investigations.

A member of the premarital counselling and screening team in Sharjah said the process focuses on medical history of family members to minimise the risk of genetically transmitted diseases.

Mandatory

The UAE has made premarital screening mandatory and couples cannot get married unless they produce a certificate showing that they have undergone the tests.

Experts said many couples wait until the last-minute to get screened and it turns out to be an embarrassment for both parties if one of them is found to be a carrier of a genetic disorder.

The UAE Genetic Diseases Association said it will now target university students to make them aware of genetic blood disorders ahead of time.

According to the Ministry of Health, every one in 12 people in the UAE are carriers of thalassaemia, a blood disorder, which requires patients to undergo blood transfusions.