MUSCAT: The decision to mandate premarital medical examinations for all Omanis wishing to get married, as per Royal Decree No 111/2025, represents a cornerstone of the preventive healthcare system. It helps reduce the spread of genetic, hereditary and infectious diseases, protecting family and community, and limiting the transmission of these diseases. It ensures the health of spouses and their future children, given the health, social and economic challenges posed by these diseases.
The decision to mandate premarital medical examinations represents a national trend towards establishing prevention as the primary public health option by limiting the transmission of genetic, hereditary and infectious diseases. It also empowers couples planning to get married to make an informed decision, thereby strengthening the sustainability of the health system and protecting Omani families.
Health specialists emphasised the importance of premarital medical examinations in preventing genetic, hereditary and infectious diseases. They pointed to its role in early detection and reducing the burden on families and the healthcare system. They added that mandatory examinations would improve public health and enhance prevention in line with national goals for family and community health.
Dr Intisar bint Nasser al Shukriyah, a consultant virologist at the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) at the Ministry of Health, said that sickle cell anaemia is the most common and serious blood disorder in terms of health complications, along with thalassemia, particularly beta-thalassemia, which requires continuous blood transfusions. She pointed out that most of these diseases (sickle cell and thalassemia) are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning that the disease occurs only in the case that the child inherits the defective gene from both parents.
She noted that if the test results show that both partners carry the genetic trait, and they decide to proceed with the marriage despite medical advice, there are medical options to reduce the risk of having an affected child. The most prominent of these is preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). However, the high cost of this test, its failure rate, limited availability, and associated complications minimise its use, even though it is currently the optimal medical solution. She added that genetics indicates a 25 per cent chance of having a child with the genetic disorder in each pregnancy when both partners carry the gene.
Dr Musleh bin Mohammed al Musalhi, Senior Hematologist and Head of the Laboratories Department at Ibra Hospital, stated that premarital medical examinations significantly reduce the transmission of infectious diseases between spouses and from mother to fetus through early detection of potential infections. This examination includes a range of laboratory tests for infectious diseases that may be transmitted through marital contact or during pregnancy and childbirth.
He added that early detection of infection is a fundamental factor in reducing the risk of transmission to high-risk groups. It also allows for timely treatment and medical follow-up, thus limiting disease progression and reducing potential complications. He emphasised that preventing the transmission of these diseases helps protect future families from the health, psychological and social repercussions that may result from infection, thereby strengthening family stability and public health in the community.
Regarding the importance of the decision to mandate premarital medical examinations, Dr Al Musalhi affirmed that the decision has a positive impact on public health efforts to control infectious diseases in the future by including all targeted groups in the examination process. This enables early detection and prevention, thereby reducing the prevalence of these diseases in the community.
Dr Raya bint Said al Kamyaniyah, Head of the Preconception Care Department at the Reproductive Health Directorate of the National Centre for Women and Child Health, pointed out that one of the most important indicators of the success of the premarital medical examination programme is measuring the number of beneficiaries of the service compared to the number of marriages in the same year. This is in addition to measuring the programme’s long-term effectiveness by reducing the incidence of inherited blood disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia and beta-thalassemia, among newborns.
She explained that with increasing community awareness of the importance of premarital medical examinations, the percentage of beneficiaries from the service rose to 42 per cent in 2024. However, this percentage is still insufficient given the high prevalence of inherited blood disorders, which reached 9.5 per cent according to the latest national statistics.
Regarding the alignment of the mandatory premarital medical examination decision with national strategies to promote family and community health, she emphasised that this decision realises the Ministry of Health’s objectives of building a healthy and sustainable society. The national strategy for family and community health focuses on disease prevention and early detection, which aligns with the primary goal of mandatory examinations namely: protecting families from the transmission of infectious diseases and hereditary blood disorders prevalent in the Sultanate of Oman and reducing their incidence. — ONA
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