In Focus: Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

Friday 16th October – Sunday 4th July

The fifth exhibition of our In Focus – In Focus: Dame Elizabeth Anionwu will open on 16th October. This exhibition gives an in depth look at the life and work of UK’s first nurse to specialise in sickle cell, Dame Elizabeth Anionwu. 

Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu became the UK’s first Sickle Cell Disease specialist nurse in the 1970s. She set up the first dedicated centre for those with sickle cell and thalassaemia, diseases which were little understood at the time.

From her early interactions with a nursing nun and school nurses who showed her kindness, Anionwu always knew that she wanted to become a nurse. She started working towards this goal at the age of 16 and not long after began her nurse training.

Through her advocacy and campaigning across the years, Anionwu transformed the care of those with sickle cell, observing how patients with the disease were cared for in the United States and the Caribbean and undertaking further research and studies to spread awareness and improve care in the UK.

Today, Anionwu has retired, but is still an active patron of many charities, including the Sickle Cell Society.