Thank you for a very important article Avinash. You may have noticed upon any celebratory email from disable marriage gathering by any organisation, I ask a question if they are going to or have sensitised participants about genetic risks of such marriages.
Till date, I have never received reply in affirmative. It is very sad. I hope you will keep your eye on such blind marriages literally. To re-iterate, nothing wrong if couple suffering with genetic disorders knowingly take a risk to go for children. That is their personal choice, but organisations have a moral and a professional responsibility to make their participants know about this factor. Cheers On 6/12/15, avinash shahi <shahi88avin...@gmail.com> wrote: > This article is very productive and enlightening. The casuistry > provided by the author for avoiding such marriages is quite > convincing. We have several families where more than one-persons > acquire disability due to genetic antecedent. And the most of such > cases are presumably found in muslim families and in the south Indian > states. It would be great if somebody attempts to write a paper > highlighting the social profile of families consisting of more than > one disabled people. > > http://www.thehindu.com/seta/2004/04/29/stories/2004042900161600.htm > > > Problems with consanguineous marriages > > > > > > BLOOD RELATED marriages are called consanguineous marriages — sanguine > meaning blood. > > Around the globe consanguineous marriages have been practised by many > societies from time immemorial. It is widely practiced in Asia, North > Africa, Switzerland, Middle East, some parts of China, Japan and > fishermen communities in Europe and America. One in two rural > marriages in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are consanguineous. > > What type of marriages are consanguineous marriages? When you marry > biologically related or blood relatives then it is consanguineous > marriage. Most commonly in our part of the world, first cousins — > uncle's son marries auntie's daughter or vice versa. > > However another type of marriage is where maternal uncle marries his > niece (sister's daughter). Theoretical risk of having a genetic defect > child is higher in the latter type of marriage than the former. Most > of us do not even recognize the pros and cons of such marriages. > > While assessing the consequence of consanguineous against > non-consanguineous (non-blood related) marriages in health and > disease, several scientific studies have shown that consanguinity > leads to death of infants before, during or immediately after birth, > increased incidence of birth defects, genetic diseases including > blinding disorders, blood cancer (acute lymphocytic leukemia), > breathing problems for children at birth (apnea), increased > susceptibility to disease etc. > > Some scientists contradict these studies and state that other > biological factors could be accountable for the results and not > consanguinity alone. > > In our study we showed that consanguinity could increase the incidence > of many blinding disorders like retinitis pigmentosa, Leber congenital > amaurosis, Lawrence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Stargardt disease, > Usher syndrome etc (Consanguinity and Ocular Genetic Diseases in South > India: Analysis of a Five-year study. Community Genetics: > 2002:5:180-185). Consanguinity could increase the risk of inheriting > any one of the 4968 (autosomal recessive) genetic diseases that could > affect any part of the body from head to foot. > > Some animal studies have shown that inbreeding or consanguinity could > enhance longevity. It has been proved beyond doubt that consanguineous > marriages farther than second cousins would not result in major > genetic diseases. > > There are certain misconceptions regarding marriages amongst > relatives, marriages between social relatives like wife's brother and > husband's sister can get married, where there is no role for blood > relationship. > > Why do consanguineous marriages result in children with genetic > diseases? Due to inheritance parents and children, and brothers and > sisters, commonly share 50 per cent of their genetic make-up. > > Similarly uncle and niece share 25 per cent and first cousins 12.5 per > cent of their inherited genetic material as it originates from a > common ancestor. In such situations if there are any `silent' genetic > defects, then such errors manifesting as a disease in the child of a > consanguineous parents is high. > > Whereas, if we marry a person non-consanguineously in a random manner, > then for both the partners to share the same `silent' genetic defect > is extremely rare. > > Hindus in northern India as a practice outlaw the consanguineous > marriage by avoiding the same `gothra' or patrilineal relationship > between the probable bride and the groom. In some of the western > countries including the United States consanguinity closer than the > first cousins are considered to be legally incest. > > Historically closest consanguineous marriage was performed between > brothers and sisters by the Egyptian Pharaohs to preserve the royal > blood and interestingly Cleopatra was born out of such marriage. > However this disgusting practice has never been duplicated anywhere > else in the world. > > It is sad to note that many movies in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh > highlight and glorify consanguinity. Evidence suggests that > consanguinity does play a negative role in human health. The social > benefits of consanguinity should not outweigh the biological damages; > many in the community are ignorant about these facts. > > G. Kumaramanickavel > > > > G. Kumaramanickavel > > > > Sankara Nethralaya > Chennai > > > Read more studies on the issues > 1 > http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/the-biology-of-first-cousin-marriages/article4902050.ece > 2 > http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/consanguineous-marriages-are-a-major-cause-of-hearing-loss-among-children/article5061498.ece > > > > -- > Avinash Shahi > Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > -- *************** "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do." EDWARD EVERETT HALE. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
