Prof. Ankrah Badu
Professor of Haematology at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), George Ankrah-Badu, has made a clarion call to citizens to undergo sickle cell test to determine whether they have the sickle cell trait or disease.
He said finding out one’s sickle cell status was necessary, especially for couples who wanted to have healthy children and people who might be carriers of sickle cell trait.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disease that causes red blood cells to be deformed (sickle-shaped) because they contain an abnormal type of hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S, instead of the normal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin A.
The sickled blood cells are destroyed by the body faster than normal blood cells. This causes anemia.
Also, sickled cells can get trapped in blood vessels and reduce or block blood flow. This can damage organs, muscles, and bones and may lead to life-threatening conditions.
Prof. Ankrah-Badu said couples who married without testing for sickle cell stood a high risk of giving birth to children with the sickle cell disease.
“Three percent of children born in Ghana have the sickle cell disease and about 72,000 children are born with the disease in West Africa because people don’t know their status of the disease,” he said.
Prof. Ankrah-Badu made this call when he delivered a document titled, ‘The Contribution of the Medical School to Research in Sickle Cell Disease’ at a public lecture organized by UGMS, as part of its fiftieth anniversary celebrations.
Taking his audience through how the disease was first discovered in Ghana and the research done into the sickle cell disease, Prof. Ankrah-Badu called for funding to support current research into the disease.
He said, “People have blazed the trail in researching into the disease and we need to continue.”
He added that the Ministry of Health (MOH) provided funding for the running of the clinical research department with support from Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but no money was allocated for research.
“We need the support of organizations and institutions to facilitate our research,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
