Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN) have joined forces to launch a groundbreaking bone marrow transplant program to cure sickle cell disease in Nigeria. This collaboration comes in response to the critical need for such a program in a country where sickle cell disease is a widespread and devastating health issue.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder that affects the shape of red blood cells, causing them to become sickle-shaped instead of the usual round shape. This abnormal shape can lead to a host of health complications, including chronic anemia, organ damage, and a significantly reduced life expectancy. According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria has the highest number of sickle cell cases in the world, with an estimated 150,000 infants born with the disease every year.
Recognizing the urgent need for a solution, LUTH and SCFN have come together to establish a bone marrow transplant program at LUTH, which is the largest teaching hospital in Nigeria. In a joint statement, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, and Dr. Annette Akinsete, the National Director of SCFN, emphasized the potential for this program to change the lives of those living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.
A bone marrow transplant, using a donor from a family member, is an established cure for sickle cell disease. However, this procedure is not widely available in Nigeria, and patients often have to travel abroad for treatment, which is expensive and not accessible to all. LUTH and SCFN's bone marrow transplant program aims to change this, making this life-saving procedure accessible to Nigerians.
The program also includes comprehensive care programs, such as newborn screening, penicillin prophylaxis, and Transcranial Doppler screening in children, to identify those at risk of stroke. This is followed by chronic blood transfusion therapy and the increasing use of hydroxyurea therapy, which has shown promising results in improving the proportion of children surviving into adulthood. However, the most severely affected individuals often do not survive into older age, highlighting the need for a more definitive cure.
This bone marrow transplant program is not the first collaboration between LUTH and SCFN in their efforts to combat sickle cell disease. In 2019, LUTH set up a post-transplant clinic, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, to provide post-transplant care to patients who had previously traveled abroad for treatments. This clinic has been a significant success, and now the program is being expanded to include bone marrow transplants in Nigeria itself.
The statement released by LUTH and SCFN confirmed that the first set of patients have already started undergoing bone marrow transplants at LUTH. These patients received a rigorous treatment regimen of exchange blood transfusions, chemotherapy, and anti-infective prophylaxis to prepare them for the infusion of bone marrow stem cells from their family donors. The stem cell infusions took place on September 17th, and the patients are now in the post-transplant care phase.
This milestone achievement by LUTH and SCFN is a promising step towards finding a cure for sickle cell disease in Nigeria. With the bone marrow transplant program now in place, more Nigerians can hope for a life free from the burden of sickle cell disease. This collaboration between the two institutions is a testament to their dedication to improving the health and well-being of Nigerians and their commitment to finding a cure for this debilitating disease.
Credit: Nairametrrics
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