Doctors and Academics: Premarital Screening is the Path to Family Stability and a Sign of Societal Awareness
A number of academics and doctors have emphasized the importance of premarital screening, considering it a safe path toward family stability and a clear indicator of societal awareness.
During a scientific symposium organized by the Yemeni Society for Thalassemia and Hereditary Blood Diseases, in cooperation with the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Sana’a University on March 9, 2016, participants called on relevant authorities to expedite the enactment of a law mandating premarital screening.
The symposium, held under the slogan “In Our Hands, We Build a Yemen Without Thalassemia,” and sponsored by Yemen Mobile Company, was part of the annual awareness campaign conducted by the society in many Yemeni schools and universities.
Three research papers were presented at the symposium. The first paper, delivered by Dr. Abdul-Mu’min Shujaa’ Al-Deen, Head of the Comparative Jurisprudence Department at the Faculty of Sharia and Law, discussed the religious perspective on premarital screening. The paper examined the stance of Islamic jurists regarding the risks of thalassemia and hereditary blood diseases and emphasized the importance of premarital testing from an Islamic jurisprudential viewpoint.
The paper highlighted the permissibility of obligating prospective couples to undergo medical screening, based on religious texts that encourage good marital relations, maintaining harmony between spouses, and avoiding anything that may cause familial discord, all grounded in recognized jurisprudential principles.
The second paper, presented by Dr. Ahmed Shamsan Al-Maqrami, pediatric specialist and head of the Yemeni Society, covered the medical aspects, including key milestones in the discovery of these diseases in Yemen, their main symptoms, complications, and their negative impacts on individuals, families, and society at large.
It also included a brief overview of the society’s history since its establishment in 2000 by a group of patients’ guardians and concerned doctors, and highlighted the most important services provided to patients.
Dr. Al-Maqrami reviewed the latest statistics from the society’s main center records in the capital city alone, reporting a total of 4,856 diagnosed cases: 3,425 with sickle cell anemia, 591 with thalassemia, 353 with combined anemia and thalassemia, 151 with other conditions, and 336 cases with incomplete data.
Regarding the legal standpoint, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Al-Ghabri, assistant professor of public law at the Faculty of Sharia and Law, Sana’a University, presented a paper discussing practical experiences from the Arab world. He emphasized the necessity of legislating precautionary measures to protect family and societal security, including the enactment of a law mandating premarital screening.
The symposium, chaired by Dr. Iftikar Al-Mikhlafi, included many interventions, notably from Dr. Mohammed Saad Najad, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law, who urged all societal segments to pay attention to this national issue and support the Yemeni Society for Thalassemia Patients, stating that the responsibility extends beyond the society to the entire community.
The symposium concluded with a set of proposals and recommendations, most notably:
- Forming a committee of legal experts and specialists in hereditary and blood diseases to draft a law mandating premarital screening, benefiting from Arab and international experiences in this field.
- Maintaining continuous communication with government bodies to adopt and submit the draft law to the legislative authority for discussion and approval.
- Civil society advocacy for the rapid issuance of a law requiring both parties to undergo medical screening before marriage contract procedures commence.
- Encouraging official bodies to expedite the issuance of this law and promote awareness within the community about the importance and health, social, and economic implications of premarital screening.
- Organizing awareness seminars for preachers and mosque imams about the Islamic perspective on medical screening before marriage, clarifying the dangers and harms of thalassemia and hereditary blood diseases.
- Requesting the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance to issue circulars directing imams and preachers to dedicate one or more Friday sermons to the obligation of premarital medical screening for the prevention of thalassemia and other hereditary blood diseases from a religious standpoint.
- Establishing a national center for hereditary blood diseases equipped with the latest diagnostic devices for early detection and patient follow-up.
- Advocating for relevant authorities to establish a specialized center for bone marrow and stem cell transplantation.
In a statement during the symposium’s closing, the society’s Executive Director, Mr. Jamil Ali Al-Khayati, thanked Sana’a University’s presidency, the faculty dean, and the participating doctors for their contribution to community awareness and supporting the cause of thalassemia and hereditary blood diseases patients.
He also expressed gratitude to Yemen Mobile Company for their continuous support of the cause, especially the company’s CEO, Engineer Amer Haza’a, who has never hesitated to back this humanitarian issue.
Al-Khayati praised the Ministry of Health’s role in caring for these patients, particularly over the past two years, during which the ministry provided care for more than two hundred cases at an approximate cost of $300,000.
He added, “If the Ministry of Health intends to provide moderate care for four thousand patients, it would require about $10,000 per thalassemia and hereditary blood disease patient, amounting to one billion Yemeni Riyals.”
The Executive Director concluded: “If a portion of these funds were allocated to preventive awareness activities like this symposium, we would not need such large sums for treating patients with these chronic diseases. Prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
