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A lot of medical experts
and marriage counselors advise that couples who are about to get married should
go for specific medical tests
before tying the knot. While this is very important, many couples don't heed
this advice for fear of probably incompatible results, especially as regards
their haemoglobin genotype, emerging to become a reason for not getting married
after such a long and deep emotional investment into each other (it can be very
heart-breaking and some people might go into depression that would require
psychiatric care if they're compelled to cut off the relationship and marriage
after such a long time of planning about their future together).
Instead of waiting till you meet that special half with whom
you will spend your lifetime before realizing the importance of such specific
medical tests, why not go for these medical tests now that you're probably
single or have not met that special someone yet? Whether you're a man or woman,
you should undergo a haemoglobin genotype test now before you meet your
lifetime partner when it might either be too late or the outcome of your
incompatibility could drive you into a mental breakdown.
Read also: Preventing and managing hypertension
The Importance of knowing your Haemoglobin genotype
There are several disease variants of the haemoglobin gene,
but the commonest ones are haemoglobin S and C. The normal haemoglobin gene
present in adult humans is A which exist as AA. However, some people have the A
and S pairing as AS; some have the S and another S pairing as SS which is known
as sickle cell disease; and a few people have S and C pairing to form SC which
is also as bad as SS.
If your haemoglobin genotype test comes out as AS, SS or SC,
it means you can give birth to a child with SS if you marry someone who is AS
or SS. For instance, if a man with AS marries a woman with AS, one in every 4
children they have will be SS. But that's probability in theory. In reality
that one child could be the first child; and that one child in every 4 children
could manifest as 4 children in every 16 children, meaning the first 4 children
can be SS and the couple has to give birth to more than 10 children to stand a
chance of having a child who is either AA or AS.
Read Also: End of year Getaway for the family
Taking care of a child who is SS can be a nightmare
especially for couples who don't have the financial capacity; and even for
those with the financial resources, the child may still die from a crisis or
complication that can occur when nobody expects it.
Hence, knowing your haemoglobin genotype before entering a
relationship that could lead to marriage will enable you talk about it with
your partner, and if you're incompatible, the possibility of marriage can
easily be ruled out at this early stage of the relationship, unlike when you're
getting to know your haemoglobin genotype after proposal and the wedding is a
few weeks away.
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