Seeking to reduce genetic disorders, Iran orders mandatory premarital DNA screens

iran
Iranian nurse Zahra Akbarzadeh, left, gives one-day-old baby girl Setayesh to her mother, Tayyebeh Sadat Bidaki, to feed her at the Mehr hospital, in Tehran, Sunday, July 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Every day, 80 infants with some form of disability are born in [Iran]. That equals to over 30,000 new disabilities per year.

Genetic testing before marriage has been made mandatory [in Iran] in the next economic, social and cultural development plan (2016-2021) which will come into effect in March (one year late), reports [the Islamic Republic News Agency].

The aim is to reduce the risk of parents passing on illnesses or genetic disorders to their children. Getting screened before pregnancy can give prospective couples reassurance that they are not a carrier, or can help them make an informed choice for pregnancy.

One of the most important causes of disorders in newborns is marriage within families or cousins. Studies shows marriage between first cousins more than doubles the chance of having a baby with potentially life-threatening birth defects…Currently, the rate of marriage within families is 12.6% in Iran….

“Additionally, families with a child suffering from a disability must undergo genetic testing before having their second child,” said [Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpei, head of the State Welfare Organization]. The costs of genetic testing will be paid by the SWO if the family cannot afford it.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Premarital Genetic Testing Mandatory

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