Earlier pre-marital thalassaemia testing needed
Friday, May 2nd, 2008Nina Muslim; 30/4/08
Doctors and activists working with thalassaemia patients called for earlier screening for the genetic blood disorder, saying pre-marital screening has failed to prevent the birth of new patients. Thalassaemia, characterised by the breakdown of oxygen-rich red blood cells, affects about one in 15 UAE nationals. When carriers marry each other, they have a 25 per cent chance of producing a thalassaemia-major patient, who requires frequent blood transfusions to survive. Dr Fatima Sajwani, a haematologist at Al Qasimi Hospital, told the press after the launch of World Thalassaemia Day commemorations that earlier screening would help prevent marriage between carriers.
