Moi University’s MFM team performs first intra-uterine fetal transfusion in Eldoret, Kenya
The procedure was supported by our faculty and the first two graduates of Moi University’s maternal-fetal medicine fellowship
Moi University’s maternal-fetal medicine team recently performed an intra-uterine fetal transfusion in Eldoret, Kenya — to our knowledge, the first procedure of its kind performed at a public hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa — with support from our faculty and the first two graduates of Moi University’s maternal-fetal medicine fellowship, which was developed through close collaboration with our Department.
The pregnancy was complicated by fetal anemia, and the patient could not afford private care in the only other institution providing this service in Kenya, thus necessitating an intervention at Moi.
The medical team performing the procedure included Dr. Pallavi Mishra and Dr. Bett Kipchumba C. —the first two locally trained MFM subspecialists in Kenya — as well as Dr. Nan Okun, division head of maternal-fetal medicine at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and lead of the joint U of T/Moi MFM training program.
The success of the procedure was again an example of the strong influence of an “on-site” training fellowship, whereby not just the intervention, but the team required to build the expertise — including anesthesia, blood bank, and nursing — were created, modelling at Moi what we at U of T have in our fetal medicine unit.
Dr. Rosa Chemway, Dr. David Ndingori, Dr. Paul Nyongesa, and Dr. Kosgei Wycliffe were present for this procedure, and they and the entire team were visibly affected by this success. It really set the stage for future fetal therapy.
The purpose of Dr. Okun’s visit was to be the internal examiner for the latest group of MFM fellows, who passed their exams and will bring their expertise to new communities outside Moi.
The fellowship is a component of the Department’s 15-year partnership with AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare); Dr. Rachel Spitzer, vice chair of global women’s health and advocacy, is the local lead for the partnership. AMPATH was initiated in 1989 by our institutional partner, Indiana University, with faculty members and trainees from IU working actively to support us on the Reproductive Health Team.
