Our Inspiration

Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, MD
(“Prof”) (“KOF”)

Kwaku Ohene-Frempong

1946-2022

Tributes & Remembrances:

KOF has been a global leader in the field of Sickle Cell Disease, long before many of us can remember. He has trained generations of physicians all over the world and published landmark research that still informs the care of people living with Sickle Cell Disease worldwide.

He initiated the first newborn screening for Sickle Cell Disease in Africa, in his native Ghana. In the past two decades, his focus on improving the prevention and care of SCD in Africa grew tremendously through his active participation in numerous research and clinical care projects.

— Ambroise Wonkam, MD, PhD (PI Sickle Africa Data Coordinating Center)

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When his baby boy was diagnosed with the illness, he made it his mission to combat it. Soon after his first child, Kwame, was born on May 13, 1972, Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong discovered that the boy had a fatal genetic disease.

"The most important thing that happened to us is Kwame’s birth. It changed the trajectory of our lives and of hundreds and hundreds of people around the world."
Read on NYT

In Memoriam: Kwaku Ohene-Frempong

By Isaac Odame, MD, American Journal of Hematology (August 2022).

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Tributes from Maureen Achebe, MD, MPH; Isaac Odame, MB ChB; and Alexis Thompson, MD, MPH.

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We the members of the Ghana Foundation for Sickle Gene Action (GF-SGA) are inspired by the dedicated leadership and humility of our compatriot, Professor Kwaku Ohene-Frempong (KOF).