Saturday 03 / January / 2026
Muscat: The decision to make premarital medical examinations mandatory for all Omanis wishing to marry, in accordance with Royal Decree No. 111/2025, represents a cornerstone of the Sultanate of Oman's preventive health system. The measure aims to reduce the spread of genetic, hereditary, and infectious diseases, protect family and community health, and limit disease transmission to future generations, particularly in light of the health, social, and economic challenges posed by these conditions.
Health specialists emphasized that mandatory premarital examinations play a vital role in early detection, reducing health burdens on families and the national healthcare system, and enhancing public health outcomes in line with national goals for family and community well-being.
Dr. Intisar bint Nasser Al Shukri, Consultant in Virology at the Central Public Health Laboratory at the Ministry of Health, explained that sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, particularly beta thalassemia, are among the most prevalent and serious hereditary blood diseases in the Sultanate. These conditions are typically transmitted through recessive inheritance, meaning a child becomes affected only if both parents carry the defective gene.
She clarified that premarital screening identifies individuals who carry the disease gene without showing symptoms. If one partner is healthy and the other is a carrier, children are usually healthy but may also carry the gene. However, if both partners are carriers, there is a 25 percent chance in every pregnancy of having a child affected by the disease.
Dr. Al Shukri noted that early detection reduces the burden at both the family and healthcare system levels. Families are spared the emotional and financial strain associated with chronic illness, frequent hospital admissions, and lifelong treatment. At the national level, treatment costs for hereditary blood diseases amount to approximately OMR55 million annually, covering medications, blood transfusions, surgeries, and bone marrow transplants. Reducing affected births allows these resources to be redirected to other health services.
She added that while medical options such as preimplantation genetic testing are available for carrier couples who choose to proceed with marriage, their high cost, limited availability, and associated risks restrict widespread use.
Dr. Al Shukri stressed the importance of genetic education, which helps couples understand the difference between being affected by a genetic disease and being a carrier, thus reducing social stigma. Education also corrects misconceptions, including the belief that consanguineous marriage is the sole cause of genetic diseases, noting that unrelated individuals can carry the same genetic mutations prevalent in the community.
For his part, Dr. Musleh bin Mohammed Al-Muslehi, Senior Hematologist and Head of Laboratories at Ibra Hospital, highlighted the role of premarital examinations in preventing the transmission of infectious diseases between spouses and from mother to child. These examinations include laboratory tests for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis.
He explained that early detection enables timely medical intervention and follow-up, reducing complications and limiting disease spread. He emphasized that managing positive cases requires medical accuracy, ethical responsibility, and respect for patient dignity, noting that initial positive results require confirmatory testing before final diagnosis.
Dr. Raya bint Saeed Al-Kamyani, Head of the Pre-Pregnancy Care Department at the National Center for Women and Child Health, stated that one of the key indicators of the program’s success is the number of beneficiaries compared to the number of marriages annually, as well as long-term reductions in hereditary blood diseases among newborns.
She noted that beneficiary rates reached 42 percent in 2024, a figure that remains insufficient given that hereditary blood disease prevalence stands at 9.5 percent according to the latest national statistics. Mandatory testing is expected to significantly bridge this gap.
Dr. Al-Kamyani added that the Ministry of Health has strengthened infrastructure by providing advanced laboratory equipment, issuing unified national guidelines, training medical and laboratory staff, and accrediting qualified private health institutions to ensure service quality.
She affirmed that the decision aligns with national strategies for family and community health, reinforcing prevention and early detection as primary public health tools, protecting families, and ensuring the sustainability of the healthcare system.
The mandate reflects a national commitment to making prevention the first line of defense in public health, enabling informed marital decisions and safeguarding the well-being of future generations in the Sultanate of Oman.
