Diagnostic chain Metropolis Health Services and leading matrimony portal Bharatmatrimony has joined hands to promote premarital health checks.

With the tie-up, around 12 million registered users of Bharatmatrimony can avail of pre-marital health checks at the 50 Metropolis labs and 350 franchisee centres across the country at subsidised rates.

According to Dr G S K Velu, managing director of Metropolis, “There is an alarming increase of incidence in infectious diseases being reported in the country and increased risk of transmission in most traditional marriages as both partners are relatively strangers to each other”.

The health check, ‘soul-to-soul,’ helps diagnose hereditary disorders such as thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia and helps prevent contracting of infectious or sexually transmitted diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, he added.

Murugavel Janaki-raman, founder and chief executive officer of Bharatmatrimony, said his organisation was committed to provide a secured platform for individuals

to meet.

“This tie-up is also extremely relevant socially and the medium makes it easier to ask for a health status, which may otherwise be socially unacceptable or uncomfortable to ask for in the traditional framework, especially for the relatives of the girl,”

he said. Interested members Bharatmatrimony can seek a health profile check on the website and receive an e-coupon, which would have a user ID and serial number.

The health check at the nearest Metropolis centre would cost at least 40 per cent less for the members. The confidentiality of the reports would be maintained until the member wanted the partner to know about it, he said.

sangeethag@mydigitalfc.com