International Seminar at SIUT highlights issues arising from genetic disorders
A day long international symposium was organized by the Pediatric Nephrology Department of SIUT, which highlighted the medical risks and issues arising from genetic disorders caused by inter-family marriages.
The symposium was attended by renowned national and medical experts who discussed the high incidence of consanguineous (cousin) marriages. They noted that, unfortunately, Pakistan falls in the category where the problem is widespread. It was stated that 60 percent of all marriages in the country result in a compromised pool, leaving little room for effective treatment.
The experts stressed the importance of genetic counselling and called on the medical doctors to refer the patients to specialists at the earliest stage.
Prominent among those who spoke were Dr. Salman Kermani, Dr. Moin Salim, Dr. Seema Hashmi, and Dr. Ali Asgharlanewala, among others. The event was widely covered in the media.