Meet Chijioke Onyeama – Biomedical Scientist

Explain what your job entails?

I am a Biomedical Scientist in Haematology and Blood Transfusion and my job entails analysing patient samples (usually blood), to aid the diagnosis and monitoring of disorders of the blood and bone marrow such as anaemia, sickle cell disease, blood cancers such as leukaemia, haemophilia and other bleeding and clotting disorders. It is also part of my responsibility to ascertain a patient's blood group and antibody status, so as to provide appropriate blood components if and when needed.

Why did you choose your career?

I naturally am very inquisitive and love to get to the root of issues and events to find out the 'how' and the 'why'. Becoming a Biomedical Scientist has given me the platform to put that passion into practical use for the benefit of other people.

What do you love about your job?

My job gives me the privileged opportunity to be able to contribute to patient care, diagnosis and treatment even though the patient never gets to see me or even know I exist. Makes me feel like an Oracle.

Let us know something that a lot of people don’t know about your job?

I have met a number of people who have no idea who a Biomedical Scientist is, or what we do. I usually say to them that we keep looking after patients long after the clinic has closed.