Islamabad: Health experts on Tuesday called for genetic testing facilities and mass media to fight rare diseases, as genetic diseases kill 70 percent of babies in Pakistan.
“Genetic diseases are often serious, chronic, debilitating, and life-threatening, often requiring long-term and special treatment,” said Assistant Prof. Dr. Riffat Ahmad in an interview with Jamia Karachi Private News Channel.
He explained that Pakistan is a highly developed society with cousin marriages and same-caste marriages and stressed the need to raise awareness about genetic diseases at all levels.
He also stressed the importance of research and awareness in reducing the incidence of genetic disorders in Pakistan.
Dr. Riffat also highlighted the complications of hemophilia, an inherited genetic disorder that prevents the body from building blood vessels efficiently.
Experts say that millions of people in our country suffer from genetic defects due to the marriage of close or first cousins.
Fertility screening is a proven method of preventing genetic disorders and can help select healthy individuals, he said.
