MANAMA, 26 January 2003 — Princess Al-Jowhara Al-Ibrahim, the wife of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, has donated SR24 million for the establishment of a molecular medicine and hereditary diseases center at Gulf University, said the university’s chairwoman Rafeea Ghabbash. Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Ghabbash said the donation came in recognition of the center’s importance in providing treatment and diagnosis services for hereditary diseases that are common in the Gulf. There are over a thousand such centers in the US alone. “The Gulf needs at least one specialized center as the rates of hereditary diabetes, autism and blood pressure disorders are higher in the region than anywhere else,” she said. (KUNA)