No test, no nikkah!

Almost every third girl gets married to a guy she doesn’t know, has never met or never talked to before. The guy’s family just saw the girl somewhere, they sent the proposal and if the girl’s family didn’t find anything objectionable then everything is final - the date is fixed, venue decided…and they get married to each other.

Now, the happily married couple is expecting a new family member, and when the new family member is born, they get to know that the baby is having a disease called Thalassemia. They go blank. They run to doctors. They try to do what ever they can do. In the end, they get to know that both of them were Thalassemia Minor which is why their baby is Thalassemia Major.

Minor + Minor = ?
25% chances are of Thalassemia Major
50% chances are of Thalassemia Minor
25% chances are of Normal

Sadness takes the place of happiness soon…. And the baby becomes used to hospital visits, transfusions, needles and medicines.

Now the question is: Where did it all begin? What was the mistake they made?

Till a few years ago, people used to ask parents of Thalassemia major that if they were cousins? Did they get married within the family? Yes, Thalassemia genes do get inherited, but it is not only in cousin or interfamily marriages, it can even happen when a guy and girl do not know each other and get married and when they never get tested…

Asking the couple to get the test done before marriage is like asking one to commit the biggest SIN!

But why can’t you think, just for once, for your next generation? Why don’t you see the bigger picture?

When are we going to stop being so narrow-minded?

A few months ago there was a comment on my blog which said:



“No Test, No Nikkah!”

I feel the government should pass a bill about this issue soon. There are many countries that have already started this, why can’t we? And when will we?

We all know our government so why don’t we start something on our own too?

What you can do as an individual?
* You can get yourself and your partner tested before marriage
* Ask your friends to do the same
* If someone you knowis getting married ask them if they have gone for the test
* Spread awareness about this to family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and everywhere…TO SAVE THE NEXT GENERATION!

The test is called HB electrophoresis and it is not very expensive…

So, when are you going to get yourself tested?

This post was originally published here.