Sickle cell care in Africa must move beyond survival to help patients live full lives, experts say

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood disorder that leads to rigid, sickle-shaped red blood cells that can obstruct blood flow, damage organs and cause severe pain, anaemia and life-threatening complications. While treatment has historically focused on pain management and complications, advances in medicine have opened up new possibilities for patients, including disease-modifying medicines, stem cell transplantation and gene therapies.

Dr Enam Sefakor Bankas, a hematologist at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana, argues that the care for sickle cell patients in Africa must shift from merely surviving to thriving, enabling individuals to attend school, complete higher education, build careers, start families and participate fully in society.

Hydroxyurea, a disease-modifying medicine approved in Ghana in 2018, has shown promise in reducing painful episodes and complications associated with sickle cell disease. Despite this progress, challenges remain in terms of affordability, access to medicines and specialised services. Other treatments like crizanlizumab and L-glutamine have varying availability and regulatory status across countries.

Stem cell transplantation and gene therapies offer transformative options, but their high costs, specialised infrastructure and donor identification issues limit their accessibility in many African settings. While AI-assisted analysis of blood films could potentially improve early diagnosis, established national or continent-wide AI-enabled diagnostic systems were not mentioned during the discussion.