PIQUED INTERESTS- GENOTYPING ERRORS

The strike was called off about 2 weeks ago now. whoop whoop! So everything has been happening so fast, I’ve been keeping busy with going to clinics while trying to complete all the paperwork that needs to be submitted for the approval of my research study.

Sickle cell disease and trait is very prevalent in Nigeria, thus my selection of the country to conduct my research. The country has made great pushes towards an initiative promoting the knowing of your genotype, as a result many people before they get married, test to decide whether or not they have the trait, the goal is to prevent or at least reduce the number of sickle cell disease births in the country. Knowing your genotype allows people to understand the risks and likelihood of having a child with the disease. Whether a couple decides to proceed with a relationship/marriage after they know they both have the trait is up to them, however armed with the information, they are able to plan for the best and worst case scenarios.

While at the sickle cell clinic I have noticed an alarming trend among some of the mothers that presented with their child. Incorrect genotyping! Out of the approximately forty patients seen thus far with Dr. Ojo in clinic, four people have said that they were tested as AA (you do not have sickle cell trait) earlier in their lifetime, and so it was a shock when they had their child present with sickle cell pain crisis. Four out of forty is a rate of 10%!!! A lab error rate of 10% is horrendous and unreal! A resounding theme among the four women was that the issue initially brought on marital problems, and accusations of infidelity.
It wasn’t until a lot of persuasion and counseling

their husbands agreed to do another genotyping exam along with the mothers and in some cases paternity tests. In these four cases after their genotypes were tested again, they were found to be AS (Sickle cell trait carriers). 

Due to this revelation, I have decided to somewhat change the focus of my research, because I believe this topic is an important story to tell. The hope is to shed light on the growing issue of lab error/genotype inaccuracy most notably in private hospitals, and hopefully propose solutions to this issue. This change in my research, will now prolong the already never ending paper work, but I think it’s well worth the hassle.

an·ec·dote 2

I have officially been in Nigeria for over a month now, it is the longest I have ever stayed in the country! It’s a major mark for me :-). While I’ve been here though, I am reminded more and more how “un-African” I am. However I am currently making a conscious effort to blend in better into the community. That brings me to anecdote 2!

an·ec·dote 2: See yo mouth jus formin’ phonay! You are not in London o!

Since I’ve been in Nigeria I have noticed a lot of people do not understand me when I talk. There have been several instances where I want to order something and they just look at me or shout, “WE NO HAVE AM” (For my non-pigeon English readers: WE DON’T HAVE IT). Funny enough if I have a friend nearby that is a native they will ask of the same item and they will magically get the server to bring out what they just said they didn’t have! I would think to myself, what kind of juju (voodoo) does my friend have to make them bring out what they just denied me????!!! What ever it was, I too wanted the juice (the it factor that made them do what they said)

It wasn’t until last week at the hospital that I found my own juice via a random encounter. I went to the small corner store located at the pediatric ward to buy a coke. When I get there, two older ladies meet me, and before I open my mouth, I remember, and tell myself “they don’t call it soda, Seyi, they call it mineral,” so I go to the lady and proudly ask for “mineral.” The face the lady made after I asked for the mineral was out of this world, her face was twisted up, then she replied “MINERULL? WHAT’S A MINERULL? U MEAN Mee-NAY-RAL!!! SEE YO MOUTH JUS FORMIN’ PHONAY, YOU ARE NOT IN LONDON O!” I proceeded to burst out laughing while thinking to myself "LONDON??? I've never been to London *side note-unless flight layovers count haha*." The old lady went on to explain, my phonay (phonetics) was not accepted here, and that I needed to talk like a Nigerian. LOL.

That following day, I was out in a mini market and wanted to buy bottled water, I initially forgot my “juice,” and simply asked for a “bottle of water,” the store attendant replied with a loud “henh???” I then remembered what the old lady told me the previous day, and then replied “BOTTLE WARTAAAAAAA,” the store attendant then smiled, walked away and returned with an ice-cold bottle of water. I calmly paid for the item and left, BUT inside I was screaming YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, I finally figured it out, I was so ecstatic I wanted to burst out into skelewu (a dance song)!

Funny enough, my time spent in Nigeria has shown me, that when in Rome (you all heard of the saying)…I was so scared of coming off as patronizing that I was missing the opportunity to assimilate into a culture that is welcoming and open. I was initially afraid to speak in accent, but through my many funny encounters, I am learning that Nigeria is open to me trying to speak in accent, so I should be open to it too, it’s not patronizing instead it’s showing my effort in absorbing the culture!