By Prof Estelle Verburgh, Director and CEO of Blood SA Foundation; Consultant and BMT Director of the University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Academic Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; Principal Investigator of EBMT centre member University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences; Subcommittee member of the EBMT Global Committee.
Zimbabwe’s first autologous stem cell transplant and Namibia’s expanding programme mark important advances in access to transplant care across Southern Africa.
Key facts:
- Zimbabwe has performed its first autologous stem cell transplant.
- Namibia operates a growing autologous transplant unit.
- A Namibian patient registry is being developed, with future EBMT reporting planned.
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare has performed Zimbabwe’s first bone marrow transplant, a major step forward for local haematology care (read the news article). Dr. Moses Chatambudza, Head of the Haematology Department, and his specialist team carried out an autologous stem cell transplant for a patient with multiple myeloma. The achievement shows that complex transplant care can now be delivered locally, reducing the need for treatment abroad.
Progress is also being made in Namibia. The country’s transplant programme is led by Dr Kudakwashe Simba, Specialist Physician and Clinical Haematologist, and has developed into a functioning autologous transplant unit. Since November 2025, the unit has performed ten autologous transplants for patients with myeloma and lymphoma, using non-cryopreserved stem cells.
Together, the programmes demonstrate how specialist training, infrastructure and regional collaboration can build sustainable transplant services and improve access to care across Southern Africa.
Alongside clinical development, Dr Simba is leading the establishment of a patient registry in Namibia, supported by Ms Edwig Shingenge, a Senior Lecturer at the Namibia University of Science and Technology and a PhD student at the University of Cape Town. Future reporting to EBMT is planned. The registry will support outcome monitoring, quality improvement and research while connecting the programme with the wider transplant community.
As transplant programmes continue to grow across the region, more patients are expected to benefit from access to life-saving therapies closer to home.