MULTAN: The Punjab government is considering making thalassemia test mandatory before marriage, with an aim to check incidence of this serious life threatening disease, official sources of health department disclosed on Tuesday. Sources said that the provincial health department has prepared a draft bill laying condition of thalassemia test for couples before they get married adding that it has been sent to law department for fulfilling legal formalities. Thalassemia is a blood disorder passed down genetically in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin in red blood cells that carry oxygen. The disorder leads to destruction of large number of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. After getting approval from provincial cabinet and standing committee, the bill would be tabled in the Punjab Assembly for approval, sources informed. The Punjab government is also mulling to issue a certificate to couples after the test, sources.Bakhtawar Amin Medical and Dental College Principal Dr Samee Akhtar said that the test should be made compulsory, especially in cousin marriage cases. It is a simple blood test, which tells whether next generation could have the disease due to defective genes of parents, he said.. “The thalassemia had two types including thalassemia major and thalassemia trait. If one gene of both male and female who are going to marry were defective, their babies would suffer from thalassemia,” Dr Akhtar said. He said that with the test recommended by medical science, the disease could be prevented easily. He regretted that most of our general public was uneducated and did not follow the suggested parameters even though they were sensitised about it. Dr Akhtrar hailed the step of Punjab government to check incidence of thalassemia, which kills people in early ages.