WINDHOEK, March 20– Namibia has localized stem cell transplantation, with the country currently treating its sixth patient since the launch of the program in November 2025, officials said on Thursday.
The breakthrough has reduced treatment costs by more than 35 percent, offering relief to patients who previously had to travel to neighboring South Africa for care costing over 800,000 Namibian dollars (about 47,500 U.S. dollars).
The program, a collaboration among six healthcare institutions, has completed four stem cell transplants, with two additional patients currently in active treatment.
“In six months, we have moved from performing Namibia‘s first transplant to running a steady program. We are currently treating our sixth patient.
The fact that we can offer this here, without families needing to uproot their lives to travel abroad, is what matters most,” said Kudakwashe Simba, clinical hematologist and transplant physician.
According to Simba, the transplant program ensures that when patients are diagnosed, the full pathway of care — from chemotherapy through transplant to recovery — is available locally.
However, the program’s expansion has increased demand for blood, which remains essential to sustaining treatment. Carla van Zyl, medical division manager at the Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia, said that oncology patients previously accounted for about 16 percent of national blood product use, but that figure has now risen to between 20 percent and 23 percent, largely due to hematological cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
She said the increase reflects the expansion of advanced cancer care services in Namibia, warning that national blood stocks currently fluctuate between five and eight days, a narrow margin that requires a stable donor base to keep the program operational. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
