Yemen's Thalassemia epidemic

Ghanem insists on pre-marital testing Sanaa - Moin Al Nagri A leading Yemeni doctor is urging the country’s government to implement compulsory testing for the hereditary blood disease, Thalassemia. Thalassemia is a blood disorder passed down through families in which the body makes an abnormal form of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Dr Azza Ghanem, the head of the Diplomatic Club and wife of Yemen’s foreign minister, is calling for pre-marital screening of the disorder, so that couples intending to marry can determine if their offspring are in danger of being born with it. At a charity event last week, Ghanem revealed that over 2500 cases of Thalassemia have been reported in the country’s capital Sanaa, costing the state billions of days every year, she said. She said screening only costs $10 and the measure could save millions of dollars which are spent treating children who are born with the disease.