Kwaku Ohene-Frempong (13 March 1946 – 7 May 2022) was a Ghanaian pediatric hematologist-oncologist and an expert in sickle cell disease (SCD). Ohene-Frempong grew up in Ghana and was a standout athlete in track-and-field, later competing for Yale University as well as Ghana at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. He continued his medical training in the United States, where he completed medical school, pediatrics residency and a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship. With a professional interest in SCD, Ohene-Frempong was a physician and involved in public health initiatives at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, and later the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Pennsylvania. He continued professional relationships with Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana where he later became a full-time physician after retiring from CHOP. In Ghana, he established public health initiatives for SCD screening in newborns, as well as an SCD clinic for patients with the disease.
Early life, education, and athletics Ohene-Frempong was born on 13 March 1946 in Kukurantumi, Eastern Region, Gold Coast (now Ghana) to Kwasi Adde Ohene, a cocoa farmer, and Adwoa Odi Boafo. Because Kukurantumi lacked education above the middle school level, he completed Ordinary and Advanced-level secondary school studies at Prempeh College in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, where he was also a Senior Prefect. While at Prempeh, he was a senior high school national champion in several track and field events, including the hurdles, long jump and high jump. After graduating from Prempeh, Ohene-Frempong was one of 16 Ghanaian students to receive a scholarship from the United States Agency for International Development-supported African Scholarship Program of American Universities, which he used to attend Yale University for his undergraduate studies. He graduated with a B.S. in biology in 1970. While at Yale, he was a standout athlete on the track-and-field and soccer teams, on which he competed for four and three years respectively. Ohene-Frempong was invited to compete on the Ghanaian national team at the 1968 Olympics, and although he initially planned to take a leave of absence for one semester to participate, he opted to focus on his studies instead. In his senior year, Ohene Frempong was Captain of the indoor (1969–70) and the outdoor (1970) track teams. That year, in the outdoor Ivy League track and field championships, he won first place in the 120-yard hurdles (110 metres hurdles) in 13.9 seconds, setting a Yale record as well as a Ghanaian national record that lasted until the 1996 Olympic games. He also won the 60-yard high hurdles in 7.10 seconds, setting a conference championship record. At his graduation, he was awarded the William Neely Mallory Award, given to Yale's "outstanding senior male student-athlete". Later that year, in July 1970, Ohene-Frempong represented Ghana at the men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, placing seventh with a time of 14.7 seconds. Ohene-Frempong attended Yale School of Medicine, earning his M.D. degree in 1975. During medical school, he spent some of his training at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi in 1974. As part of his M.D. requirements, he completed a thesis entitled "Child Health in a Ghanaian Community", based on some of his work at KATH. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at New York Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
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