On the 6th June 2025 we held our annual education day for healthcare professionals who treat patients with haemoglobinopathies across the region. This was held in Bristol but we had attendees from many of our regional sites including Gloucester, Derriford and Torbay.
The day had a range of speakers, including cover the management of non-transfusion dependent thalassaemia and priapism in sickle cell disease. These talks were extremely useful to educate and update doctors in the region on these important issues.
We also invited Dr Claudine Matthews, a dietician with a special interest in sickle cell disorders, to talk to us about the importance of diet and nutrition in sickle cell. Click here to find out more about the Sickle Cell Nutrition Academy which she founded to highlight this subject and spread knowledge and awareness.
A highlight of the day was hearing more about gene therapy from Dr Sanne Lugthart. Gene therapy is a promising new treatment for sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, which uses the Nobel prize winning CRISPR-Cas9 technology to increase the amount of fetal haemoglobin in red cells. In thalassaemia this improves anaemia, and in sickle cell disease this reduces the ability of the red cells to turn into a sickle shape.
This treatment has very recently been introduced so it was very informative to hear more about this from Dr Lugthart.
We had a great day filled with education and networking with colleagues across the region. We’re looking forward to hosting this event again next year!
If you’re a healthcare professional in the South West of England and are interested in attending this event next year, please get in touch via the Get Involved page.