MOH has carried out 400,000 pre-marriage medical checkups during the period from 01/01 to 26/10/1429 – including 183844 samples of contagious diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C – and 202606 samples of hereditary diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and thallasemia.
According to MOH Director General for Non Contagious Diseases Dr. Mohammed bin Yahia Saeedi, MOH has recorded 3250 positive contagious and hereditary cases, including 2500 cases for hepatitis B and 651 cases for hepatitis C, out of a total of 386450 checked samples. He said 49 AIDS cases have also been recorded, including 12 cases in Riyadh and 9 cases in Jeddah. "Counseling clinics and hospitals must find out a technique for contacting specialized clinics to which discovered cases are transferred for ensuring easy handling of pre marriage checkups", he said.
As for hereditary diseases, the Healthy Marriage Program has recorded 110559 positive cases out of a total of 302599 checked samples. This record included 8796 positive sickle cell anemia cases as well as 1763 thallasemia cases.
The program has issued 95475 conformable marriage certificates, whereas the number of unconformable cases have been 576 cases.