HEALTH CORNER
Getting married seems to be the “in” thing nowadays if the din of wedding bells being made by many of our favorite celebrities, friends and loved ones is any indication. A lot of these would-be couples are looking at the stars for signs that will foretell whether their impending union will give them the wedded bliss that will allow them to live happily ever after.
Yet, more than the compatibility check that these partners-in-heart can figure out in astrology, it is a lot wiser for them to check the compatibility shown through their individual health cards, particularly in his or her blood and genes.
As health is an important element of a happy relationship, getting compatibility test for a variety of conditions that will possibly befall their future children will be most helpful. These tests will somehow give a more accurate picture of the likely risks and burden they may face about raising their kids.
Simply put, before committing the rest of one’s life to another, every would-be bride and groom should take some simple tests for blood matches, genetically transmitted conditions, and family history. Requiring only a small blood sample from both the man and the woman, these tests will pre-determine the probability of their offspring bearing any consequent health conditions, some of which are potentially life-long burden and financially draining. These may include thalassemia, hemophilia, G6PD deficiency and congenital metabolic diseases. These tests may also predict in their children cancers, juvenile diabetes and mental disorders like ADHD, bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.
Thalassemia is a group of inherited disorders characterized by reduced amount or the absence of hemoglobin --- the oxygen-carrying protein inside the red blood cells. This condition can cause varying severity of anemia, which can range from clinically insignificant to life threatening. People with this condition need lifelong regular blood transfusion, usually on a monthly basis that may result to transfusion related complications leading to heavy financial burden for the family. This condition is recessively inherited by the children from their parents, meaning that a genetic makeup is inherited from both the mother and the father. The severity of this disease is influenced by the exact thalassemia mutations (the change in hemoglobin components alpha or beta globin), as well as other genetic and environmental factors.
Hemophilia is an uncontrollable bleeding disorder caused by genetic blood coagulation protein mutation. This disease commonly manifest in male offspring with the female offspring serving as the carrier who may subsequently pass it on to her future generations. People with this condition suffer from prolonged bleeding after an injury, surgery, or even having a tooth pulled. In severe cases, hemophilia can cause continuous bleeding even in the absence of any injury or trigger. Complications can result from bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs resulting to significant morbidity and mortality.
G6PD deficiency is an inherited abnormality in the activity of an erythrocyte (red blood cell) enzyme called glucose- 6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD). This enzyme is essential for assuring a normal life span of red blood cells for oxidizing processes. Deficiency of this enzyme may provoke the sudden destruction of red blood cells and lead to hemolytic anemia with jaundice following the eating of certain beans, legumes and intake of various drugs. This condition is sex-linked or transmitted from mother (usually a healthy carrier) to son (or daughter, who would be a healthy carrier, too). In severe cases, this may lead to Kernicterus or a disorder due to severe jaundice in the newborn because of the deposition of the pigment bilirubin in the brain that causes damage to the brain, potentially leading to athetoid cerebral palsy, hearing loss, vision problems, or mental retardation.
Another important test partners should take is the blood grouping tests. It is essential that both man and woman have the same Rh factor (Rhesus factor). This simply means that the positive or negative sign that follows a person’s blood groups (for example, if one is to have a blood O group positive, his Rh factor is positive, and if the partner belongs to Blood group B negative, he/she has a negative Rh factor). The information taken from this test is important during the pregnancy of the woman since a mother and her baby having opposite Rh factors could lead to severe complications and even death of the baby. During pregnancy, the woman should talk to her doctor about this possible complication so that both of them can devise a plan to deal with the situation.
There are others tests that partners might also opt to consider before settling down like sexually transmitted test, infertility test, chronic disorders test and psychiatric test. These tests will be very helpful in determining whether the man and the woman are good, if not perfect, match. It doesn’t mean that when any of these tests will show some unpleasant results, one should run away, abort the wedding and find another partner. Most of the time, doctors can prescribe the best treatment or remedial approach that can either prevent or mitigate possible unwanted offspring manifestation or symptoms like blood transfusions, supportive medications, or bone marrow transplantations.
In the end, plunging into a lifetime commitment needs a prerequisite in knowing some of the basic information about ourselves like our blood group and genotype and their matching probabilities. This is best fulfilled by consulting our doctor. After all, getting married should be a happy occasion where we have also seriously considered the health of our future children who are integral part of realizing our dream of wedded bliss that will pave way the way for the family that we hope to raise to live happily ever after.
Dr. ALLAN ROBERT RACHO is the Head of St. Luke’s Medical Center – Quezon City Cesar Tiu Lee Pediatric Blood Disorders and Tumor Unit and concurrent Head of the Section of Pediatric Hematology - Oncology of the St. Luke’s Institute of Pediatrics and Child Health. He completed his training in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas USA. For inquiries, please contact the St. Luke’s Cesar Tiu Lee Pediatric Blood Disorders and Tumor Unit at 7230101/0301 ext. 7417.