Can a new Tanzania hospital give hope to sickle cell sufferers?
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Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition which primarily impacts people with genetic ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. It\\u2019s caused by a defective gene which alters how red blood cells grow, it mutates them and they become sickle shaped. These cells don\\u2019t live as long as healthy blood cells and they can block blood vessels. This can cause severe pain and organ failure.
The main a cure is a bone-marrow transplant but anyone seeking this in Tanzania had to travel abroad for this treatment. \\n \\nBut the opening of Tanzania\\u2019s first bone marrow transplant unit for sickle cell patients looks set to change life for people there. \\n \\nAfrica Daily\\u2019s Alan Kasujja has been looking at the challenges of living with sickle cell disease and how bone marrow transplants work.
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