A Word from the Editor-in-Chief

It is with great pleasure that I write to welcome you to another interesting issue of the Nigerian Journal of Haematology (NJH). I am glad because it was possible to meet the deadline to launch this edition this month of August 2022. August is a special month, because it is the month the Nigerian Society for Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NSHBT) celebrates her anniversary at an annual scientific conference and annual general meeting. This year is really special because NSHBT is celebrating 50 years of growth and advancement. To commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebration, NJH has published six articles, a review on, “Transfusion Services in Tropical Africa: Challenges and Prospects from Nigerian Perspective”, four original articles and a case report. One of the original articles, also on blood transfusion services in Nigeria, reports the challenges associated with blood component preparation in various centres across the nation from the experience of members of NSHBT. It is a reflection of the state of affairs in the nation. The other original articles on 1) red cell folate and folate supplementation in patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA), 2) the role of hepcidin in the regulation of haemoglobin levels in late pregnancy and 3) the usefulness of IL-18 in monitoring the response to HAART in individuals with HIV, show that there is still hope for haematologists to conduct research with clinical impact. The case report documents the importance of the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in making an accurate diagnosis of betathalassaemia co-inherited with SCA, which is under diagnosed for lack of facilities.

The Editorial Board is immensely grateful to all authors for sending these high-quality manuscripts to be peer reviewed by our team of dedicated and meticulous reviewers and editors who have sacrificed their time and intellect to make it possible for this edition to be launched at this time. I personally wish to say, “thank you all so much”, for your support in sustaining this journal so far. It is not frequent enough yet, but I pray that with your continued patronage, the impact factor of this journal will rise to the level that could be indexed in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and other databases in the near future.

It is with a heavy heart that I pay tribute to one of our Editorial Advisers, Prof. Kwaku OheneFrempong, a Ghanaian expert in SCD, who departed from this world at the age of 76 years on 7th May 2022, after a brief illness. The sickle cell community will surely miss him. May his gentle soul rest in peace. 

To conclude, I would like to congratulate some members of NSHBT for the giant strides made in collaborating internationally in research and impacting the practice of haematology, particularly sickle cell disease, in Nigeria, despite of the odds. I also wish to thank NSHBT for the confidence you had in me when I was unanimously nominated to be the EIC of this journal at the Lagos conference, in 2016. It was an interesting journey and I believe that with a little more effort we can take this journal to the next level. I thank you all for the opportunity to serve this great Society. 

Happy Golden Jubilee everyone!!!

Jacta Alea Est 

Norah O Akinola, FACP,
Editor-in Chief
BSc; MBChB, Dip. Haem, PhD, FMCP, FMCPath
Consultant Physician and Haematologists