Lahore: Conducting some important tests like Thalassemia and blood type test before marriage can protect the couple and their offspring from many dangerous diseases. However, due to lack of awareness, medical examination before marriage is often considered a waste of money and a sign of behavioral insecurity. This not only affects the family life of the couple, but also causes the birth of children and various diseases.
Abdul Rehman, a resident of Chowburji in Lahore, got married in 2012. He has a 10-year-old son, and one child died before birth. Her son also suffers from dyslexia. Abdul Rehman said his marriage was invalid and his first child was born two years after the marriage, but he died hours before giving birth. Four years later, they had twin sons, one of whom died a few hours after birth. According to Abdul Rehman, the doctor informed him and his wife that they have the same RH factor blood type, which is causing the problem.
Shalimar resident Alina Amir has a daughter suffering from Thalassemia and has been donating blood for her daughter for the past five years. Alina Amir revealed that she suffered from anemia before marriage and her husband also had the same problem after marriage. When her daughter was born, she had Thalassemia. Alina Amir said that if they had undergone medical tests before marriage, they would not face problems now.
Gynecologist Dr. Zainab in an interview with the Express Tribune said that marriage is for men and women to live together to live and forge physical bonds. Therefore, it is necessary to undergo some medical tests before marriage. According to Dr. Zainab, prenatal tests should include Thalassemia, sexually transmitted infections, genetic diseases, fertility tests and blood tests. He said STIs can diagnose hepatitis B and HIV. Similarly, if one or both partners have Thalassemia Minor, the child is at risk of getting Thalassemia Major.
If a man has a positive RH factor in his blood and his wife has a negative RH factor in her blood, the child’s blood will be RH positive. In this case, antibodies produced in the mother’s blood enter the baby’s blood and destroy red blood cells, usually causing the baby to die before birth, leading to miscarriage. Even if the baby is born alive, it will die after a few days. Fertility tests determine whether a man or a woman has the natural ability to conceive.
Experts say that this is a routine test and does not cost much. However, there is very little tendency in our society to conduct medical tests before marriage. Sociologist Rabia Yusufuf believes that medical tests are usually done only when someone is sick. When discussing prenatal tests, boys and girls feel that their health and character are in doubt, and these tests can be done regularly. Rabia Yusufuf said, it is necessary to increase awareness that this little test can make the life of the couple’s family happy. He said that just as the government passed a law setting the minimum age of marriage for girls at 18, the marriage contract should also require a medical examination.
