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State-Run IMD Diagnosis Centers Lacking

State-Run IMD Diagnosis Centers Lacking
State-Run IMD Diagnosis Centers Lacking

The incidence of inherited metabolic disorders in Iran is five times the global average, said genetic specialist Maliheh Khaleqian.

“There are no state-run centers in the country for IMD diagnosis. The diagnostic tests are extremely costly as there are hundreds of different genetic metabolic disorders, and their symptoms, treatments, and prognoses vary widely,” she told ILNA. The few private centers that do the tests charge exorbitantly.

One of the reasons behind the abnormally high number of IMDs in Iran is marriages within families and skipping premarital genetic testing.

“Setting up a government-sponsored screening system for IMDs in neonates is crucial,” she noted. IMDs are genetic conditions that result in metabolism problems as a result of enzyme deficiency.

Financialtribune.com