WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY 2014

June 19, 2014

WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY 2014

TODAY is the19th of June, 2014, WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY!

The United Nations General Assembly in 2008 established the World Sickle Cell Day to encourage an increased awareness about the sickle cell disease to the general public (Youth and Children especially) and how this disease affects individuals and families, worldwide.

The SCD: Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited, genetic and fatal disease which manifests as a red blood cell disorder.

The sickle cell disease can be inherited by an individual if one parent has sickle cell trait and the other parent has normal hemoglobin, there is a 50 percent (1 in 2) chance with each pregnancy of having a child who has sickle cell trait.

Parents who have sickle cell trait can have a child with sickle cell disease. This is why it is important to understand how sickle cell trait is passed on, and how it can affect the health of your children and grandchildren.

Sickle cell disease is inherited. If both parents have sickle cell trait there is a 25 percent (1 in 4) chance with each pregnancy of having a child with sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is a lifelong illness that can result in serious health problems.

Healthy red blood cells are usually round, and they are supposed to move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body.

In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.

According to the statistics, it has been noted that more than 1000 babies are birth every day having Sickle Cell Disease in Africa and die before getting to the age of five years. More than 90,000 to 100,000 people are affected by this disease in the United States.