Nigeria has world’s highest sickle cell burden, says foundation

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Sickle Cell Foundation, Dr Annette Akinsete has revealed that Nigeria has the highest burden of sickle cell disorder in the world as 150,000 babies are born with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria out of which 100,000 die before the age of 5 years.

She noted that 40 to 50 million people in Nigeria are sickle cell carriers who can pass the gene to their children.

A Consultant Haematologist, Dr Titi Adeyemo noted that people with sickle cell disorder suffer without the equipment necessary in managing their health condition due to its unavailability.

“Patients are in pain and the facility is not available to ease their pain. Before now, it took us days to use a manual transfusion to save the life of a sickle cell patient as we use a syringe and needle to extract their blood and replace it during crisis. An automated machine was needed but due to its cost, it could not be procured,” Adeyemo said.

An automated machine, the exchange blood transfusion (EBT) was recently donated by the family members of a former Board of Directors member, Muyiwa Talabi for the management of sickle cell patients during crisis.

The N27 million automated machine which is used for all age range helps sickle cell patients during crises and also assist those with signs of stroke to make them regain their health 100 percent without any side effects.

Akinsete explained that the life-saving machine will be used once a year by sickle cell patients who suffer from crisis. She noted that with the EBT machine, the patient will be alright within 45 minutes to one hour. It’s a life-saving equipment when they have a crisis.”

She said, “Over 80 percent of children affected by sickle cell disorder are born in Africa. With the machine, the aim of the process of exchange blood transfusion is to reduce Hb S to about 30 percent from the usual 85 to 90 percent in people with Sickle Cell disorder.”

The centre’s CEO hinted that a bone marrow transplant clinic which is being built in collaboration with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) will be ready before the end of 2020. The bone marrow transplant is the latest method of treating sickle cell disorders.