Dr. Mariam Fida, MD, PhD

Dr. Mariam Fida obtained her medical degree from the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Bahrain and her PhD in Medical Genetics (Breast Cancer) from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She later went to the US (Chicago, IL) to specialize in “Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)”. She is considered to be the first GCC citizen to specialize in this rare field of Reproductive Medicine.

After coming back from Chicago and aside from establishing the Genetic Screening Clinic, Dr. Mariam established the first PGD center in Bahrain. She is currently the director of PGD at Al Jawhara Center (AJC) and a Consultant in Medical Genetics. She is also an Assistant Professor at the College of Medicine & Medical Sciences (CMMS), Arabian Gulf University (AGU).

Aside from her professional work, Dr. Mariam is a board member of the Bahrain Cancer Society (BCS) and the head of the Awareness Committee where she gives talks related to cancer awareness and genetics throughout the year and also organizes awareness campaigns, cancer walk-a-thons and charity events.

Title of Presentation

Establishing the 1st PGD center in Bahrain

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is one of the fields of Reproductive medicine where genetic abnormalities are detected in embryos and only the healthy unaffected ones are implanted into the mother. In autosomal recessive conditions (ex. Sickle Cell Disease, Thalassemia, Cystic Fibrosis), signs of the disorder do not appear on the parents carrying the disease. However with every pregnancy, there is a 25% chance their child will be affected. Through PGD, we can help those couples in having an unaffected child. Due to the small geographical area of Bahrain and because of consanguinity, two of the most common diseases encountered are Sickle Cell Disease and β-Thalassemia.

We have established the first PGD Center in the country where initially the main diseases we are focusing on are those two genetic conditions. More diseases/mutations will be added gradually.

The talk will be about the challenges we faced and are facing, along with the validation process and the results we achieved so far.