New Hope in Sickle Cell Care: Dr. Sota Omoigui on the Golden Half Hour & Home Oxygen Therapy

One Year Later: Dr. Sota Omoigui Shares New Hope for Families Living with Sickle Cell Disease

Two years after his groundbreaking discovery, Dr. Sota Omoigui returns to The Medical Equipment World & Healthcare: Get the Scoop! to discuss ongoing research surrounding sickle cell disease, the "Golden Half Hour," and the role of home oxygen therapy.

Host Tara Slaughter explores the science behind the discovery, the growing international community following this work, and the upcoming July 4 educational event celebrating this important milestone.

This episode is designed to educate patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in advances in sickle cell care.

Topic: 2nd Year Anniversary of Dr Sota Omoigui’s Discovery
Time: Jul 4, 2026 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the medical equipment world and healthcare get the scoop, the podcast where we break down durable medical equipment, patient care, and real world solutions for caregivers, families, and healthcare professionals. I'm your host, Tara, your certified medical equipment specialist with CFS Medical Supplies and Equipment, CFS Solutions, and my co-host Silas is not here today, but we have the great Dr. Sotum on today. And so we're gonna, he was on before when we first started our podcast. He was one of our first guests. And so we have him back today, and we're totally excited because he's very busy and he um has joined us here today. But I'm gonna read a quick disclaimer. The information shared in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only, and it's not intended as medical money. Always concerned with your position and healthcare provider regarding any medical decisions or concerns, medium post more games assume liability for any actions taken based on content discussion in this episode is always welcome. Um you got you know you got to is I'm gonna read this really quick here, and then Dr. Go in and share with the and all these great things, and then we're gonna be asking questions and talking about his anniversary that is coming up on July 4th. So we're totally excited about this. Um today we have another doctor, uh guest is Dr. Sotomigwee. Did I say that right, Doctor?

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Thank you because I'm gonna mess up some names.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

No problem.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Okay, so he is a board-certified anesthesiologist, pain medicine specialist, medical researcher, and medical director of the division of inflammation and pain medicine in the Los Angeles area pain clinic in Hawthorne, California. He also serves as the CEO of State-of-the-art Technologist Inc. Dr. Sota is widely recognized for his research on pain and inflammation. His work proposing the inflammation is the underlying or origin of pain, has been cited extensively in medical literature and has influenced discussions in pain management around the world. Most recently, Dr. Sotal has gained international attention for his work exploring the role of home oxygen therapy in helping prevent and reduce sickle cell crises. His research and recommendations have sparked conversations among healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and policymakers about new approaches to improving the lives of individuals living with sickle cell disease. Today we're excited to discuss his research, the science behind his work, and what it could mean for patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and families around the world. So again, welcome to the medical equipment world and healthcare get the scoop, Doctor.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Awesome, awesome. Doctor, I know you are busy and I am just thankful that you took the time out because I know you're preparing for your call on the fourth. And uh so we'll be definitely sharing that um in our bio uh for his in his bio in the blog section, you guys. So for any of you out there who wants to jump on the call on July 4th and listen in, it is 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, but we will have that information listed so you're able to uh jump on and listen in because Doctor is gonna it's gonna be you, doctor, and some other physicians as well. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Um, yes, it's going to be actually um a conference to um highlight um the achievements and the second year anniversary of my discovery and the discovery showing that um of the right treatment, which is inhalation of oxygen, in the right place at home, at the right time, the golden half hour, they can prevent, reverse, and stop a sickle cell crisis. And using home oxygen either from a cylinder or from a continuous flow oxygen concentrator.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Oh, that is amazing. That is so amazing. What inspired you to organize this second anniversary event, Doctor?

SPEAKER_02 4:43

Um, because we um we have a WhatsApp platform. We exceeded the capacity of the first one with more than 1,000 members. We had to open a second one, we exceeded the capacity of that one with another thousand, and we're on a third platform. So we have more than 2,000 members now, and we have hundreds of families implementing my discovery using home oxygen with some families not having a crisis in more than one year since starting home oxygen.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Oh my God, that is amazing! So, so is that can you break down for the audience what is the golden half hour discovery? Just kind of explain that in detail for us so they can kind of truly understand what it consists of.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Okay, the whole issue with sickle cell is that during a low oxygen environment, the red blood cell changes shape to a sickle shape, and then and then it now obstructs the blood vessels and becomes damaged, obstruct the blood vessels, and that now causes uh a crisis. Now, we have known since 1930, scriver and wow, that the cycling of the red blood cell is not a one-step process, it's a two-step process, with the first part of the process being reversible, which means the cycling process, if the patient gets oxygen within the first 30 minutes, which is the golden half hour of my dear, which is my discovery, you can reverse and stop a crisis immediately. And if the you can take a pain from 10 to zero with just oxygen alone. But what happens is that the present way people with sickle cell are treated is that they have to go to the hospital after the crisis has already started. By the time they reach the hospital, the cycling is irreversible. The cell membrane has been damaged to the extent where it no longer responds to oxygen. So look at oxygen as CPR for the red blood cell. When they are struggling and about to die, you give them oxygen, they recover. But once they're dead, they obstruct the blood vessels, causing severe pain, loss of blood flow to the organs. And the only way the body has to deal with that is to destroy those damaged cells. And by destroying them, then the blood count drops, the person gets severe anemia, needs a blood transfusion, so it becomes one complication after another. So, but if you can stop it in those golden half hours, all that sequela goes away.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Wow, that is amazing, Doctor. Like, oh whoa, that is awesome. And I'm so excited to be a part of being able to have this conversation with you about it because I know, and it's so crazy too. Like, uh, since we had our last conversation, I am more like into like understanding the sickle cell and you know, sharing it with people and all these types of things. And I just think that it needs to be talked about more because it seems like it's one of those topics. I always say it's kind of like reminds me of medical equipment a little bit. No one really talks about it until they need it, right? And uh just to be able to get that information out is so critical. So as we look back, um, as you reflect on the past two years, what milestones or moments stand out to you?

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Well, the milestones stand out like um we have more doctors implementing this discovery. We have a hematologist in Lagos, Nigeria. He's going to have a video presentation during a second anniversary conference, which will be on July 4th at 9 a.m. Pacific time, 5 p.m. Nigerian time, 12 on East Coast time, and talking about how providing his patients with home oxygen has significant, significantly lowered his rate of hospitalization. They don't come to the hospital anymore.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

They stopped their crisis right at home.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Whoa, that is that is so he will be showing a video and then talking about that on this uh 4th of July.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Yeah, yeah. He will be showing a video talking about his experience with home oxygen. Then we also have several family members who have used home oxygen who are coming to talk about their experience with home oxygen. So those ones will also be talking. And then I will be on I will present uh the state of the discovery address um to show all the progress that has been made. And um and yes, this is the first time in 7,300 years since the pre-dynastic period in Egypt, more than 3,200 years before Christ, that there's been any solution to prevent, reverse, and stop a sickle cell crisis. 7,300 years.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

7,300 years. Why what do you think why did it take so long?

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Well, first of all, oxygen had to be discovered. Okay. All right, so that was done. Then secondly, what what misled medical science was that when they gave oxygen in the hospital, it didn't work. So they thought it doesn't work. They didn't realize it was the timing of the oxygen. By the time they were getting to the hospital, it was too late. So that was what misled them. And the pharmaceutical industry were always looking for a pill that will increase oxygen at the molecular level. Again, the key word is oxygen. They were trying to get the red blood cells uh to hold on to their oxygen a little bit so they don't get a low oxygen state that makes them sickle. And all well and good, but the real deal is the oxygen gas itself. So we have a pill hydroxy urea, which has been the mainstream for sickle cell disease. And how does that work? Increases the level of hemoglobin F, the fetal hemoglobin. Now, what does the fetal hemoglobin do? Fetal hemoglobin is designed by nature for the fetus to extract more oxygen from the low oxygen environment of the uterus. So the fetal hemoglobin has more oxygen affinity and keeps the oxygen. So hydroxy urea incidentally was found to increase fetal hemoglobin, and which by allowing the cell to hold on to oxygen prevents it from sickling as much. But hydroxyuria only decreases crisis by about 50%, but it cannot stop a crisis that has started. Oxygen can stop a crisis that has started. And in our initial study of 98 patients in Nigeria, it was able to decrease hospitalization and blood transfusions by 79 to 80 percent.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

So on when also when you talk about the medication that people take for it, is there something like any medication out there that people take that kind of help even avoid having the symptoms? Or how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Well, the hydrosilia also decrease the uh chronic hemolysis, the chronic destruction of the red blood cells, which happens because they get irreversibly sickled. Now, there have been several drug trials to bring new drugs like oxbrita and dark view, um, that have the same principles of uh oxbrita, the same principle of uh molecular oxygen, adact view, the principle of uh decreasing the adherence of the red blood cell to the uh blood vessel wall, but they all failed because after passing phase one and phase two of the clinical trials, in phase three, they found out that patients with adact view and oxbrita had more crisis on the drugs than on placebo. So, which means the drugs were not very good in preventing crisis, they were good in increasing the hemoglobin, decreasing hemolysis, but they couldn't stop a crisis. Nothing can stop a crisis faster than a gas. Within two or three seconds, that gas is diffusing through the lungs, it's in the blood vessels. Then the medicine that you have to take by mouth has to go through your GI tract, gets absorbed, so nothing comparable. And of course, home oxygen is accessible to everybody, affordable. There's no patent on it, nobody's making a billion dollars on it. And even those drugs that were given before they failed their trials, they were like costing ten thousand dollars a month.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Whoa, ten thousand a month, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Whereas you can get a constraint treatment now for $500 that can last you for three years, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:03

So the medication, so how much is the medication cost now? So let me ask you a question. So with the medication, do you take the medication and then you also have oxygen too, or you can't do both? How does that work?

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Well, the medication prevents the chronic damage to the blood cells, but cannot stop a crisis. So there are some new medications that uh are being in trials that are called pyrovid kinase activators, and um one of them was able to decrease the crisis by 27 percent and uh decrease uh increase hemoglobin by one to 1.8 grams per deal. So, but they've not been approved, they're going to be submitted for approval second half of this year. Okay, so if they're approved, they'll be used in combination with home oxygen. Yeah, nothing replaces home oxygen, nothing, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Right. Because at the at that point, and I want the listeners to know, so basically, example we're saying here, you're saying, doctor, is like you can be taking the medication, but then if you still have a crises, if you have that oxygen, it can help you with it getting worse or help you with that pain if you're if it's taken at the right moment in time using that oxygen.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

It can stop the crisis, stop the crisis, it can stop the pain. Okay, it can prevent your hospitalization, it can prevent every other thing.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

That's amazing. Yeah, it was amazing. I also saw some of your videos that you had did, and they were like amazing with families talking about um how they were relieved and the pain went away, and that was yeah, it was really like emotional too. Because I was like, wow, like she was just yeah, it was totally amazing. So I think you kind of touched on what the attendees or what they're expecting to be talking about on the program this 4th of July, and um who should consider attending. So, who do you think should be attending this call on the 4th of July on this anniversary?

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Any person or family or caregiver of a person living with sickle cell disease should attend this? Uh, any doctor who treats patients, primary care, hematologists, whatever specialty should attend it.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Yeah, yeah. And so, why was it was it important for you to make sure that you had a a ram of different people? You I think there's physicians, researchers, patients, caregivers, and families who's gonna be on there talking about their experiences and things of that nature, sharing their uh experiences. So that's why is that one of the reasons why you wanted to have those people on there?

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Well, yeah, so that everybody gives their own perspective of what this discovery has done. Once again, we are living in a moment in time that for 7,300 years nobody did never had the benefit of. So we are making history right now.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yeah, you are, yeah. So that's because that's gonna be really an interesting call to hear people talk about their experiences and then have the doctors talk about what they've used and how it's benefited and been a blessing to their uh patients. So yeah, I'm definitely excited to listen in myself.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Please do. We are and all your listeners are welcome to um tune in July 4th, uh, 9 a.m. Pacific, 12 noon eastern, 5 p.m. West African time.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

So you guys heard that, and we would definitely have that listed too in the blog so you guys can go on there and be able to get a hold uh to the link and things of that nature. So the next question for patients and caregivers: what message would you like to share with the individuals living with sickle cell disease, and what encouragement would you offer to family members and caregivers today, Doctor?

SPEAKER_02 18:58

For the first time in human history, we can prevent, reverse, and stop a sickle cell crisis. A sickle cell crisis before used to be a one-way trip to the hospital, not anymore.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Wow. What do you hope physicians and nurses and other healthcare professionals gain from participating?

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Well, they came to by getting the knowledge and sharing the knowledge with their patients and caregivers, helping them to get their life back. And I want to remind the audience sickle cell disease is not just a medical problem, it's an economic problem. The economic impact from patients being in the hospital, caregivers being in the hospital, parents and families being there, mothers taking time off work, fathers taking off time off work. Uh it's a significant economic impact, significant. Um we can actually increase the GDP of Nigeria, Africa, and the US by decreasing hospitalizations and blood transfusions and all the other complications of sickle cell. In fact, in Nigeria it's estimated that 4.8 to 7.2 billion dollars is lost annually through hospital admissions, emergency department visits, blood transfusions, organ complications, premature mortality, lost school attendance, lost workforce productivity, caregiver time.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

This represents uh roughly two to three percent of Nigeria's GDP. So based on a prospective study of 98 patients where we showed oxygen, home oxygen reducing hospitalization and blood transfusion by 80 percent. If uh the uh case series could be replicated at scale, the potential reduction in the sickle cell disease burden in Nigeria will be 2.5 to 4.5 billion dollars a year.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

And in the United States, one point five to three billion dollars a year.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Whoa. Repeat that, doctor. What did you just say? How many billions?

SPEAKER_02 21:49

In the US, one point five to three billion dollars a year.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Did you guys hear that? One point Five billion and what was the name and what was the number for Nigeria?

SPEAKER_02 22:03

Nigeria was um two point five to four point five billion dollars a year because Nigeria is the epicental sickle cell in the world with four to five million patients.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Wow, billions of dollars. What in what I mean like what when does it like become something that's talked about everywhere when you look at these type of numbers? Like what is the because you would think you would think like okay, we're we're spending it's a 1.5 billion in loss. Why isn't someone picking this up to say like, hey, we need we need to let this be, it should be on TV, it should be everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Well, it uh it's slowly. Um, I'm going to be presenting the findings of that study in the National Medical Association conference at the end of uh July. Um so it's slowly. Okay, you know, it's like turning uh it's like turning an aircraft carrier to a different direction.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

Um the people are used to the same paradigm. The present paradigm is what I call the mad paradigm. Medicine after death, after the sickle cells have been damaged and died, then you start treating them in a hospital. Whereas we're trying to change that paradigm to a proactive where the patient and their family are the first responders at home and not hopeless bystanders.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

So I encourage them, they can feel free to contact you. You sell medical equipment, you sell oxygen machines, they are free to get it from you, to get it from anybody else, and you can go on my website, sicklecelldiscovery.com, and read all about my work and see the testimonies of different patients and families.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

That's awesome. And I because my question was going to be what are your uh hopes for the future of this initiative? But I think you kind of touched on it a little bit, you know. And so let me kind of go back to when you talked about being uh you were doing a national presentation in July of this. That's this year, right?

SPEAKER_02 24:25

This month.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

This month. Oh my gosh. We are today is the first.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Oh my god, I'm still stuck in June, you guys. Yeah, so that's awesome. So you will be doing that presentation uh again of the of this month.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yes, I will be.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Okay, and so or will you be will it be like uh publicized, or how is that gonna be working?

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Well, that'll be at the conference. Um so I don't know how how the how it will be publicized, but I'm sure there'll be some information. But um I'll be live on in July 4th with the Zoom meeting for the second uh anniversary. So that'll be a very comprehensive way for people to log into the Zoom link and uh listen and hear.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

All right. So outside of the event for the 4th of July, which is a huge event, I'm totally excited about it. And then of you doing your presentation at the end of this month, is there any other uh educational projects or any things that you want to share with the audience today?

SPEAKER_02 25:29

Well, there are there are a couple cooking. I'm going to be in the Nigerian National Association of Nigerian Nurses conference in uh November in Connecticut. And um and I'm sure any other any conferences I am, I will send them to you, Tara. You can post them on your blog so people can find out where we'll be discussing this. And they are free also to join my WhatsApp platform where I share information and respond to questions. And the link of the WhatsApp platform is on my website. I can also send a link to you, Tara, and so people can join the Discovery Platform three now. We're on the third platform, but I share information on all the platforms.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Awesome. Well, you know what? I am so this is so exciting just to know because I think that, and I always say this too, even with the equipment that we provide, we do a lot of innovative, more of um, you know, like smart beds and more things that kind of like move the needle, and that we've seen that's been a blessing for families outside of some of your basic equipment. And I kind of feel like it's almost similar to that. Like when you know that there's other things out there that's gonna be helpful for families, then we have to share it, right? So uh we've seen it real time make a difference for families and patients, and so we definitely excited to talk about this, and so uh again, you guys, it's gonna be July 4th at 9 a.m. Doctor, I'm gonna let you just say it one more time. 9 a.m.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Pacific, 12 noon Eastern, 5 p.m. West African.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

West African. All right, you guys, and we'll be sharing the link on the it'll be a bio, a blog, and everything on our website, and we'll be sharing it. It'll be um posted on social media clips and things of that nature, and of course, you'll be able to go and listen to this full episode on YouTube, Apple, and all of the places that you get your wonderful podcast from. So, Doctor, I just want to say thank you again, especially with I know you're preparing for this call on Saturday, and I just want to thank you again for coming here on the Medical Equipment World and Healthcare Get the Scoots, and we will talk to you soon. And I think it's uh oh sorry, is it your birthday on the fourth queue?

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Yes, you're gonna say that.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

How awesome is that, Doctor? How awesome is that? So you guys, you know, out there, and you have sickle sale, or you know, families out there who may be dealing with sickle sale, definitely have them tune in, listen to this. You know, I feel like knowledge is power. Um, and so that's definitely what we want to share here today is knowledge, resources, and information. So thank you guys for tuning in. And Doctor, thank you again for um speaking your day with us for thank thank you for all the work you're doing, sir.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

And I also want to remind the audience. It's America's 250th birthday. Yes, 4th of July.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

It is, it is, yeah. So it's gonna be a lot of celebration going on, you guys.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

God bless America and God God bless the single cell discovery.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Yes, God bless, God bless America. All right, you guys, you guys heard it here on the CFS Medical Supplies and Equipment. Uh, actually, it's sponsored by CFS Medical Supplies and Equipment, CFS Solutions, and you heard it today. This conversation about single cell and all this wonderful discovery with Dr. Sota on the medical equipment world and healthcare, get the scoop.