Doctors have warned people against cousin marriages as they may cause thalassaemia, a disease that is gradually increasing in Pakistan. Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Haemophilic and Thalassaemic Centre Head Dr Tahira Zafar said medical sciences were not against cousin marriages but it was a source of the spread of thalassaemia in most cases. She said currently 7.5 million people were suffering from this hereditary form of anaemia in Pakistan. She said 5,000 cases were reported per year and that this hereditary disease originates from a faulty synthesis of haemoglobin.
Dr Tahira said children aged between six months and two years were the main victims of this disease and died between the ages of two and five due to inadequate or no treatment. She said a newborn child might appear normal even if his or her parents had thalassaemia – in such cases the disease could be detected during pregnancy, and parents could opt for an abortion. She said bone marrow transplants were the only cure to thalassaemia, which costs Rs 6 million a year. “
