Dr Dominic Chirwa

I am a Medical Doctor, specialising in surgery.
I have permission to practice in the UK I have extensive experience in surgery and nearly all fields of Medicine. I have worked in Canada
and South Africa.

In my spare time I am a volunteer and Trustee
for a charitable organisation, HACA.

Sickle Cell
When looking across all deaths, sickle cell
disease is a leading cause of mortality in
children <5 years as well as in youth 5–14
years and adults 15–49 years.

Half a million babies were born with sickle
cell disease in 2021, and 79% of these infants were in sub-Saharan Africa.

The largest increases in total deaths due to sickle cell disease since 2000 were in South
Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with the rise driven by population growth.

Data gaps and high burden in regions with historically elevated rates of sickle cell
disease highlight the urgent need for universal newborn screening systems and
increased access to sickle cell disease treatment.

SEATTLE, Wash. June 15, 2023 — A new study suggests the number of deaths
due to sickle cell disease is 11 times higher than what is indicated from mortality
data sources alone. Sickle cell disease is not just underdiagnosed, but it also
increases risk of infection and of death from conditions like stroke, heart
problems, kidney problems, and pregnancy complications. This means that the
doctor taking care of a sickle cell disease patient who died from stroke may not
even know that person had sickle cell disease or may not know that sickle cell
disease can cause stroke, both of which could lead the doctor to not list sickle
cell disease as a cause of death for that person.