It called for the criminalization of marriages in which premarital medical checks are not carried out and the Ministry of Justice’s endorsement is not obtained.

The Health Affairs Department made the statement after discovering a number of potential couples carry genetic or communicable diseases, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.

“Health officials discovered that 1,801 persons were unfit for marriage out of a total of 92,149 people who underwent medical checkups over the past five years,” said Saeed Al-Zahrani, spokesman for the Health Affairs Department in Taif.

Of those tested, four were HIV-positive, 931 carried sickle cell anemia genes, 17 carried the actual sickle cell disease, 307 were either carriers or ill with thalassemia, and 542 were carriers of hepatitis B or C.

Al-Zahrani called on would-be couples not to neglect the checks, adding that 34 people went ahead with their marriages even though checkups showed they suffered from genetic diseases.

He said such people are jeopardizing the health of their future children and subsequent descendants.

Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Al-Obeikan, adviser at the Royal Court, also called on punishing marriage registrars who ignore premarital checkups when conducting marriages.

He added that there is a committee at the Justice Department to monitor marriage officials who register marriages without completing necessary formalities.

“An official who conducts a marriage without fulfilling regulations is responsible for the damages his act might cause to society,” said Al-Obeikan.