The official speaker of the Ministry of Health Dr. Khalid Al-Marghalani said the total number of pre-marriage checkups which have been carried out by the MOH centers and labs in the different parts of the Kingdom during the period from 1/1/1425H to the end of 1426H is 488315 cases.
He said the program application is witnessing gradual success, the number of inconsistent cases who agreed to defer from completing marriage has increased from 9.2% in the first year (1425H) to 11.6% in the second year, whereas the number of inconsistent cases have decreased from 2441 cases in the first year to 2003 cases in the second year.
He said most inconsistent cases have been in the Eastern Province (55.7%), Jazan (18.1%), Ahsa (10.8%), and the Sacred Capital (5.2%), denoting that the high levels of cases in these areas is attributed to the high percentages of carriers and infections there.
According to official records the total number of carriers of the gene responsible for sickle cell anaemia is 20530, the total number of infected cases being 1251, whereas the total number of carriers of the gene responsible of thalassaemia is 15740, the total number of infected cases being 0.07%.
Dr. Al-Marghalani praised the efforts exerted during the intensive media campaign launched for informing people of the importance of pre-marriage checkup, notifying that the success of the campaign has been verified by the fact that a total number of 5860 young men and women have been advised not to go ahead with marriage.
The checkups also clarified the areas which are mostly infected, thus leading to more concentration on those areas and establishment of more checkup centers there.
Dr. Al-Marghalani said the results of the medical pre-marriage checkup program have shown that most cases of sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia have been found in the eastern province, Al-Ahsa, Al-Qunfutha, Jazan, and the Sacred Capital, but he pointed out that the prevalence of those two diseases in the Kingdom is not so high compared to other countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, and Lebanon.
He said preparations are now under way for executing the international field health survey in collaboration with WHO, on the results of which the current health indicators shall be updated.
The pre-marriage checkup program comes in line with attention paid to preventive aspects by the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Al-Marghalani called upon all youths who are preparing for marriage to make sure they are not infected by any of the hereditary diseases which may impose danger to their family lives and the lives of their children.
He said the Ministry of Health has adopted a program for establishing a national medical lab with a total cost of SR119 million Riyals for the first stage, in addition to SR200 million Riyals for the second and third stages.
The Ministry of Health has established 123 centers throughout the Kingdom for pre-marriage checkup. They are linked to 70 medical labs and equipped with all necessary capabilities.