Mandatory Thalassemia Test Proposed For Those Intending To Wed

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Persekutan Thalassaemia Malaysia akan mengusulkan kepada Kementerian Kesihatan untuk mewajibkan ujian saringan thalassaemia kepada pasangan yang ingin berkahwin. Ianya bertujuan untuk mengelakkan peningkatan penyakit genetik Thalasaemia sebagaima yang telah dilaporkan oleh BERNAMA.


ALOR SETAR, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- The Federation of Malaysian Thalassemia Societies will send a memorandum to the Health Ministry proposing making blood screening for thalassemia mandatory before marriage.
Its president Ramli Mohd Yunus said that such a ruling was needed to check and prevent the spread of the genetic disease in the country. He said the disease could only be detected through blood screening and if carriers marry each other, the chances of their children suffering from thalassemia major were high. "If both parents are carriers of thalassemia disease, their first and second child may have thalassemia major. It is all right if only one spouse is a carrier," he told Bernama here.
Thalassemia is a hereditary illness requiring costly life-long treatment for a condition where deficiency in the red blood cells causes a lack of oxygen in the blood stream.
Ramli said the blood screening test was the best way to identify carriers and non-carriers, as data from the Health Ministry showed that one out of 20 people were carriers. Currently, blood screening to detect carriers of the disease was done voluntarily through campaigns carried out by the ministry and the federation, he said. "We have screened over 300,000 people through screening campaigns since 2006. The tests can only be done at government clinics and hospitals due to high costs," he said.
Ramli said there are about 4,000 Thalassemia patients registered with the federation nationwide, comprising those who receive treatment funded by the government.
BERNAMA

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