The city of Dodoma now has Tanzania’s first bone marrow transplant clinic.
According to the director of Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, this is a watershed moment for the nation’s healthcare system, and the unit’s major focus will be on sickle cell sufferers.
Only Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia have bone marrow transplantation programs.
The majority of patients with sickle cell disease reside in southern and eastern Africa.
This sickness, which may cause intense pain and possibly organ failure, is caused by a faulty gene.
A bone marrow transplant replaces damaged bone marrow with healthy cells. It is also used to treat leukemia and other types of blood cancer.
Each year, nearly 11,000 newborns in the East African nation are born with sickle cell disease, according to the health ministry. Tanzania has the fourth highest rate in the world.
