SICKLE CELL ANEMIA AWARENESS DAY - JUNE 19

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Sickle cell disease is a genetic disease, so it is present from birth.

It is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body.


Normally, the flexible, round red blood cells move easily through blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These rigid, sticky cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.

Millions of people worldwide are affected by the sickle cell blood disorder. About 100,000 people in the U.S. have sickle cell disease.
There are several forms of SCD (Sickle Cell Disease). They vary based on the sickle cell and hemoglobin genes you inherit from your parents. HbSS is the most common form. It is known as sickle cell anemia. It also is the most severe form of SCD. People who have HbSS get 2 sickle cell genes, 1 from each parent.

Another form of SCD is sickle cell trait. People who have this get 1 sickle cell gene from a parent and 1 normal gene from the other parent. Typically, they don’t have SCD symptoms. However, they can pass the sickle cell gene on to their kids.

It's quite simple to understand, check out this illustration

We can see from the illustration that when two carriers of the sickle cell trait (SCT) end up producing an offspring with the Sickle Cell Anemia disease (SS).

Symptoms of sickle cell disease
Anemia is a common symptom of SCD. It occurs because your body has a hard time creating enough new cells to replace the ones that die early. Side effects of anemia include:
  • Fatigue.
  • Headaches.
  • Dizziness.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Coldness in your hands and feet.
June 19 is World Sickle Cell Day. The first annual celebration was observed in 2009, after the United Nations General Assembly established the day to increase awareness of the public health issue. By simply reading this blog, you are participating in the global campaign!. 

My Best Friend's Dad died a sickle cell, it was quite painful and I took it upon myself to make sure that mistake doesn't repeat itself.

KNOW YOUR GENOTYPE AND SAVE THE NEXT GENERATION.

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