Cheering news for the over five million sickle cell patients in Nigeria and other African countries came out of the University of Ibadan last week. Unibadan said in a statement that its collaborative research effort with the University of Chicago, Illinois, USA and University of Loyola, Chicago have resulted in producing a permanent cure for sickle cell anaemia. According to the announcement, the cure will be through a “less risky” bone marrow trans¬plant.
Consultant haematologist Dr Titilola Akingbola said, “[Sickle cell anaemia] is a great burden on Nigeria and Africa. It is so sad that we have increasing long survival among patients but who are most times surviving in pains. We have been using hydroxyures for them, but it needs close monitoring. This new method needs blood donors for them to survive and it will save their lives completely.” She also said, “It will be a red cell exchange which means the removal and re¬placement of the red cells. After this the patient will have total relief from the pains. They will only change the red cells coming from the bone mar¬row.”
Akingbola said UCH has brought in experts from the United States for training on how sickle cell disease could be cured completely via bone marrow transplant. University of Chicago’s chief haematologist Prof Damiano Rondelli also said the new method would ensure that patients are 90 per cent free from sickle cell anaemia, adding that no side effect is asso¬ciated with the transplant.
This news was received with joy by sufferers and their families. The devastating effect of the condition on victims and parents cannot be over emphasised. Apart from the pains the sufferers experience, families are often thrown into disarray. Homes are sometimes broken due to the emotional and psychological trauma, not to mention the financial stress that the condition imposes on families.
So serious is the sickle cell anaemia challenge that some churches in Nigeria took the proactive step of carrying out on tests on prospective couples. Two carriers of the sickle cell gene are discouraged from marrying in order not to produce children with the condition. That a permanent cure has now been found is therefore most heartwarming news.
However, as we celebrate this development, we must not lose sight of several similar developments in the past that turned into disappointments. For instance a drug, Nicosan which was meant to mitigate sickle cell anaemia was launched under former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. The US based company Xechem got the license to produce the drug for patients at a subsidised rate. The contract followed a research carried out at NIPRID. The company started producing the drugs but after a while, it was shut down. So, what will be done differently now to ensure that this new project does not end up like the last one?
Care must be taken so that the hopes of carriers and families are not just raised only to be dashed. The medical authorities behind this cure must approach the project with all the seriousness it deserves. While we are eager to see this cure come to real life as soon as possible, there is also a need for caution. Care must be taken to avoid past episodes where claims of discoveries of cure for certain diseases turned out to be a hoax. This new method must be subjected to all necessary scientific procedures. Scientific discoveries are usually announced at conferences where there can be peer reviewed and subjected to scientific discussion, not through press releases. But if this method has passed all the necessary test and clinical trials, then it should be announced through the proper channel to give it credibility after which appropriate sensitization should be carried out to assure members of the public of its safety and efficacy.
We also urge all relevant parties to support the effort through adequate funding and provision of other logistics to ensure its success and sustainability as it will not only assuage the suffering of carriers and their families but will put Nigeria on the map of countries that are carrying out exploits in the medical field.
