The Vice President of the Leukaemia Foundation Project, Peter Osei-Tutu, has disclosed that plans to establish a Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Ghana will cost about $11 million, including equipment.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, December 15, during discussions on the JoyNews documentary “Leukaemia: Last Chance Abroad,” Mr Osei-Tutu said the project is intended to close critical gaps in leukaemia treatment and reduce the need for patients to seek care outside the country.
“The whole project with equipment for the centre would cost us about $11 million, which is about GH₵177 million,” he said.
He noted that the Foundation is hoping to commence construction early next year.
“We’re hoping to break ground for the project sometime in February,” he added.
However, he stressed that fundraising remains a major challenge, particularly in meeting the projected timeline for completion.
“It’s very important that we’re able to also raise enough money to basically complete it within the two-year period that we’re anticipating,” he said.
Mr Osei-Tutu explained that the JoyNews documentary exposed serious limitations in leukaemia treatment options available in Ghana.
“As you saw from the documentary, there are quite a lot of gaps in the sense that not every aspect of treatment is actually able to be done in the country,” he said.
He said this reality informed the decision to establish a specialised treatment centre.
“That’s why we thought it’s prudent for us to set up this genetic centre, where some of the things that are not being done in Ghana could be done here.”
According to him, the proposed centre would significantly ease the burden on families who currently have to travel abroad for treatment.
“Families like the lady in the documentary would not have to travel outside the country and be by themselves,” he said, adding that treatment at home allows patients to remain close to family support.
While acknowledging that some forms of treatment are available locally, Mr Osei-Tutu noted that critical procedures remain inaccessible.
“There are different aspects when it becomes very critical. There are a lot of ways we can suppress the disease, but we don’t have every single amenity here,” he explained.
“Bone marrow transplant, cell transplant, all these things are very important that we’re able to do them here in Ghana rather than having families travel outside the country.”
He admitted that fundraising has been difficult, despite support from some corporate organisations.
“Raising funds to do some of these things in Ghana is very difficult,” he said, mentioning assistance from institutions such as Stanbic and Ecobank.
Mr Osei-Tutu appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to support the initiative, stressing that leukaemia can affect anyone.
“There’s a need for corporate bodies and individuals as well to basically try to help us raise enough money to complete it,” he said.
He encouraged public participation, regardless of the size of the contribution.
“Even if it’s a cedi that you put in, you’ve also contributed to saving a life,” he said, adding, “You donate, the project is done, you go past it and you say, I was part of this.”
Describing leukaemia as a critical disease, he underscored the urgency of completing the centre.
“It’s very important that we’re able to raise enough money to complete this in the shortest possible time because it’s a very critical disease and it’s very important that we’re able to help people,” he stated.
Mr Osei-Tutu also shared a personal motivation for his involvement in the project.
“My elder brother died of leukaemia. So I know first-hand how important it is to get this thing off the ground so that we can save more people,” he said.
He added that public awareness of cancer is gradually improving in Ghana.
“Cancer before wasn’t a very big thing in Ghana. People didn’t really know about it. People are now finding out that these are silent killers.”
Mr Osei-Tutu commended JoyNews for drawing national attention to the issue.
“What JoyNews is doing is helping people understand what sort of disease we’re dealing with and how important it is to put something up that’s going to help alleviate people’s problems,” he said.
Read also: Joy Cancer Awareness Month: Expert warns parents on early signs and treatment of childhood leukaemia
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