The life and legacy of the late Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong was celebrated by family, friends and colleagues at his portrait unveiling ceremony on CHOP’s campus on June 20. A painting was commissioned to commemorate his more than four-decades long career to improving the lives of people with sickle cell disease (SCD).
“KOF,” as he was widely known, was an international leader in the treatment of SCD and established many of the current practice standards. His life’s work was motivated by a personal challenge when his first-born son, Kwame, was diagnosed with SCD. Dr. Ohene-Frempong spent most of his career at CHOP, training as a hematology-oncology fellow and devoting more than 30 years as a hematologist at the hospital, establishing the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and treating thousands of patients before moving back to Ghana, his native country, to improve the standard of care for Ghanaian children impacted by the disease.
His clinical excellence and commitment to research and patient care inspired generations of colleagues worldwide. For years, he led the development of SCD treatment centers in the U.S. and globally. He was the founder and president of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana and the national coordinator for the American Society of Hematology Consortium on Newborn Screening in Africa (CONSA). One of his key research achievements was his observation of the frequency of strokes in young children with SCD, and his work was instrumental in establishing bone marrow transplant as a cure for SCD. At CHOP, he emphasized the importance of family education and community engagement to ensure that serious, potentially fatal sickle cell disease complications became more manageable with proper support.
Dr. Ohene-Frempong was a Director Emeritus of the CHOP Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. He passed away on Saturday, May 7, 2022, after a 6-month battle with cancer.
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The life and legacy of the late Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong was celebrated by family, friends and colleagues at his portrait unveiling ceremony on CHOP’s campus on June 20. A painting was commissioned to commemorate his more than four-decades long career to improving the lives of people with sickle cell disease (SCD).
“KOF,” as he was widely known, was an international leader in the treatment of SCD and established many of the current practice standards. His life’s work was motivated by a personal challenge when his first-born son, Kwame, was diagnosed with SCD. Dr. Ohene-Frempong spent most of his career at CHOP, training as a hematology-oncology fellow and devoting more than 30 years as a hematologist at the hospital, establishing the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and treating thousands of patients before moving back to Ghana, his native country, to improve the standard of care for Ghanaian children impacted by the disease.
His clinical excellence and commitment to research and patient care inspired generations of colleagues worldwide. For years, he led the development of SCD treatment centers in the U.S. and globally. He was the founder and president of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana and the national coordinator for the American Society of Hematology Consortium on Newborn Screening in Africa (CONSA). One of his key research achievements was his observation of the frequency of strokes in young children with SCD, and his work was instrumental in establishing bone marrow transplant as a cure for SCD. At CHOP, he emphasized the importance of family education and community engagement to ensure that serious, potentially fatal sickle cell disease complications became more manageable with proper support.
Dr. Ohene-Frempong was a Director Emeritus of the CHOP Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. He passed away on Saturday, May 7, 2022, after a 6-month battle with cancer.
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