Ankara Metropolitan Municipality continues to implement projects aimed at protecting public health. The newly wed couples show great interest in the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) test, the expenses of which are covered by the Metropolitan Municipality, in order to ensure that future generations are healthier. Since the announcement made by Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş as of April 21, 500 couples have applied, while nearly 800 tests have been carried out.
Newlywed couples in Başkent show great interest in the free Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) test initiated by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, which carries out studies aimed at protecting public health.
Following the announcement made by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş on April 21, over 500 newlywed couples have applied through the address forms.ankara.bel.tr/smatesti, and nearly 800 tests have been carried out.
THE TEST FEE IS COVERED BY THE METROPOLITAN
Within the scope of the protocol signed with Başkent University, the test fee of one of the young couples who will get married until the end of 2021 within the borders of the adjacent area for the diagnosis of SMA disease is paid by the Metropolitan Municipality.
Stating that they started a promotional campaign for newly married couples to have free SMA tests, Head of Health Affairs Department Seyfettin Aslan made the following statements:
“Our Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Mr. Mansur Yavaş, cares about the health and well-being of every citizen of Ankara, is in touch with every problem of the people of Ankara, and acts with the motto 'goodness is contagious'. Our municipality has signed a protocol with Başkent University in order to prevent and eliminate SMA, which has been wanted to be controlled only with therapeutic methods until today. Young couples' interest in the test conducted at Başkent University began to be intense. Our citizens from Ankara who want to get married and have a happy home can apply via 'forms.ankara.bel.tr' and have an SMA test done at Başkent University, provided that their expenses are paid by our Metropolitan Municipality. We predict that 2021 thousand of our couples will get married in Ankara in 35. As part of the promotional campaign we started, we will distribute promotional brochures to the Population Directorates and Marriage Offices. We will ensure that every couple who will get married both get information and learn how to apply to the Metropolitan Municipality.”
RESULTS ARE AVAILABLE IN 21 DAYS
Emphasizing the importance of newly wed couples to be sensitive about the SMA test and to have it tested, Baskent University Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Genetics Lecturer Prof. Dr. Feride Şahin also shared the following information:
“If the parents are carriers, the probability of the child getting sick is very high. Treatment of the disease is very difficult and costly. For this reason, as a preventive approach, we perform SMA test for newly married couples, if they want, with a protocol signed between Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and Başkent University. We find this test important in order not to worry about the child to be born if the parents are carriers. The incidence of the disease in our country is quite high. I hope couples apply to this community health project. We recommend that new couples have this test, as it is optional. We give the results of the couples who apply to our outpatient clinic within 21 working days after they make their entries.”
THE PROJECT IS IMPLEMENTED FOR HEALTHY AND HAPPY FUTURE GENERATIONS
Young couples who had a free test at Başkent University Hospital thanked the Metropolitan Municipality for this support and expressed their satisfaction with the following words:
-Eda Oral: “It is very nice to have such an application. There is no question mark in our minds. On social media, we see aid and support campaigns for children and babies with SMA. These are the things that hurt and upset us. If everyone gets these tests done with the help of the Metropolitan Municipality in order to avoid these situations, we will not experience such problems and sad events.”
-Esma Kaya: “We are very happy with the tests. We would like to thank the mayor of Mansur and the Metropolitan Municipality.”
- İhsancan Öcalan: “We often see donations and aid campaigns on Twitter. Millions of dollars are required for the treatment of SMA patients. We would like to thank the President of Mansur and the Metropolitan Municipality for offering us the SMA test in order to avoid such a situation.”
-Ali Babadag: “I would like to thank Ankara Metropolitan Municipality for this service. It is very important for newly married couples to have this test done. Recently, the situation of children with SMA has come to the fore. We recommend everyone to have this test done.”
-Sinan Buyukaydin: “I find this service of Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş very useful. We would like it to be done by all other municipalities. Fighting this disease requires great financial strength. We took advantage of this opportunity in line with the campaign launched by our president to take precautionary measures regarding this matter.”
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