Prevent Talasemia, Examination Of Degenerate Diseases Before Marriage

Health Test (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Before getting married, couples need to examine hereditary diseases or genetic disorders in order to find out the risk of deriving these diseases or disorders in their children. Molecular genomics researcher and expert Drh. Safarina G. Malik, MS, Ph.D said one of the diseases that could be prevented was talassemia. "It is recommended that pre-marital screening be found out later whether there is a risk," said Safarina, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 19. One of the most common hereditary diseases or genetic disorders in Indonesia is talasemia, which is blood disorders characterized by lack of hemoglobin and the number of red blood cells in the body. According to Safarina, if the parents carry the nature of talasemia, then the child will be born with major talasemia. Thus, the birth of a child with major talasemia can be avoided by preventing the marriage of two people who carry the nature of talasemia. Scientists, researchers, and molecular genomics experts Prof. dr. Herawati Sudoyo, M.Sc., Ph.D added, examination of genetic disorders related to talasemia does not only need to be done by a couple before marriage. According to him, if parents have given birth to their children in talasemia, then other children must also do an examination. "So the couple before marriage and the couple who already have a talasemia child with high clinical symptoms, when they have children, check the condition of the child. Whether they have a severe mutation or not," said Herawati. The examination is considered important because if the child has talassemia, efforts can be made to prevent the worsening or complications of the disease. Citing the official website of the Ministry of Health that based on data from the Talasemia Indonesia Foundation, the increase in cases of talasemia continues to occur from year to year. In 2012, there were 4,896 cases of talasemia and this number increased to 10,973 cases in June 2021. Then BPJS Kesehatan in 2020 noted that Talasemia occupies the fifth position among non-communicable diseases after heart disease, kidney failure, cancer, and stroke, with financing of IDR 2.78 trillion.