UWI’s Sickle Cell Unit of Jamaica praised by High Commissioner Coye

By Caribbean Medical News Staff

Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada, Evadne Coye has commended the work of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UWI) for its track record of excellence in research and treatment. The UWI Sickle Cell Unit operates clinics for over 5,000 patients with the disease and also attracts research fellows globally.

Jamaica was the first country to have conducted this scale of newborn screening and to have maintained the monitoring of all surviving patients to this day. The Cohort Study has improved survival and quality of life for patients, allowing accurate observation of the natural history of the disease,” she added.

She was speaking recently at the Annual Gala & Awards of the Seed of Life Philanthropic Organisation (SOLPO) in Toronto, Canada. Coye discussed the important work being undertaken in Jamaica to reduce the incidence of sickle cell disease. SOLPO was formed in 2005 by  Nigerian-born Lanre Timothy Tunji-Ajayi whose brother died of complications of the illness.

SOLPO was thereafter formed to help those living in abject poverty with incurable diseases.

The organisation is presently focusing on increasing awareness of sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder, is deadly and debilitating.

The founder of SOLPO, Coye called for greater collaboration between countries to tackle the disease. “I certainly believe that with the large numbers of Jamaicans and other African and Asian diaspora people in Canada, sickle cell research should be among the fields of effective bilateral collaboration,” she added.

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