The good Cornellians can do: William Nnuro ’21

In his spare time, William Nnuro ’21 volunteers at the Korle-Bu Sickle Cell Clinic in Accra, Ghana. He began volunteering as a way to gain clinical experience in the hopes of applying to medical school, but he’s stayed on because of relationships he has built with both the clinic staff and patients.

“I’ve seen so many people suffer from the complications of sickle cell disease and the social stigma that comes along with it,” he says. “I’ve developed such a love for sickle cell patients, that I’m allowed to return once a week to help out.”

The Ghana Institute of Clinical Genetics, where the clinic is housed, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The director of the Institute reports that more than 27,000 sickle cell disease patients have been treated at the clinic since its founding. About two percent of newborn babies in Ghana are diagnosed with sickle cell disease annually.

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