The Ghana Haemophilia Society is working to set up a national registry to bring Hemophilia patients under a single umbrella.
according to the Society will coordinate the needs and treatment of persons suffering the disease.
The Society has spearheaded capacity building for health workers in health facilities across the country to enable them to care adequately for the growing number of hemophiliacs in Ghana.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Z9b0aDVBVeNoffp5Liqa01HvSmsF40nv”]ThisIt has also sourced for funding from private organizations and individuals to help treat patients in the country.
The lack of reagents and supplies have also been one of the challenges facing the treatment of the disease since they are bought from outside Ghana and at a very high cost.
Haemophilia disease is an inherited coagulation condition in which the blood fails to clot normally.
Chairman of the Haemophilia Society, Professor Ohene Opare-Sem said the registry would go a long way to enhance the treatment of hemophilia.
He made the remarks when the Society handed over a state-of-the-art Coagulometer to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
Professor Opare-Sem indicated that the needed supplies must be available at the laboratories for the treatment of the patients who require them.
“The registry will be established by the Ghana Haemophilia Association. We are working on the registry, but as it is the Haemophilia Association does not diagnose and that is why we are donating this equipment so that those places who will make the diagnoses or receive such patients will use the equipment to confirm the diagnoses and also share that data with use so that we can identify those families from which individuals from haemophilia have come and then we will monitor them, give them training, support them an network them that is what our role is”, he explained.
Coagulometer vital for treatment of Haemophiliacs
President of the Ghana Haemophilia Society, Mr. Martin Boakye said patients of hemophilia some ten years ago suffered a lot of deformities because hospitals were under-resourced regarding resources and the knowledge on how to handle hemophilia patients.
He indicated that the society had brought a change to the treatment of the disease since it has developed the capacity of health workers at major healthcare facilities like the Korle-Bu and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.
He further said the society has also trained health workers in the laboratories and has also provided equipment to help in their work.
“I can say that Kumasi and Accra, have very strong centers for Haemophilia care, but Koforidua is up and coming. We are working on building the capacities of health workers in Cape Coast for Haemophilia care, but the larger part of the country still remained and we need the support of everybody”, he added.
Mr. Boakye indicated that the state-of-the-art Coagulometer is vital for the treatment of Haemophilia patients especially for those in the Southern sector.
Donation to KATH will help carter for Haemophilia patients in the Southern sector
The Society’s Board approved a request to its project partners, Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (NNHF) to support it in the acquisition of the 25000 Euros state-of-the-art Coagulometer.
A Coagulometer is an analyzer used to test the coagulation efficiency of blood to diagnose and assess bleeding disorders such as hemophilia or to monitor patients who are taking anticoagulant medicines such as aspirin, heparin, or warfarin.
The tool can also prevent unnecessary blood transfusions by reliably predicting whether blood product supplementation is needed.
The Society’s President said, with the coming in of the equipment to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), will help diagnose samples of Haemophiliacs in the Southern part of Ghana.
He added that the lab personnel who will also be trained at the facility would be capable enough to take samples and diagnose patients for treatment.
The Ghana Hemophilia Society was formed and registered in 2005 with the objective of advocating for hemophilia care, creating awareness about hemophilia, treatment, and care of hemophilia as well as education and training of health personnel in Ghana.
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By: Hafiz Tijani/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
