Sicke Cell Disease
​Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders.

• Healthy red blood cells are round and they move through small blood vessels carrying oxygen to all parts of the body.
• In SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”.
• Sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells.
• Sickle cells can get stuck in small blood vessels and block the flow of blood and oxygen to organs in the body. These blockages cause repeated episodes of severe pain, organ damage, serious infections, or even stroke.

Sickle Cell TYPES.

​Hemoglobin is a protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
​
HbSS: People who have this form of SCD inherit two abnormal hemoglobin sickle cell genes (“S”), one from each parent. This is commonly called sickle cell anemia and usually presents in a more severe form of the disease.

HbSC: People who have this form of SCD inherit a sickle cell gene (“S”) from one parent and from the other parent a gene for an abnormal hemoglobin called “C”. Hemoglobin is a protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. This is usually a milder form of SCD.

Hb-S beta thalassemia: People with this type of SCD inherit one sickle cell gene (“S”) from one parent and one gene for beta-thalassemia, another type of anemia, from the other parent. There are two types of beta-thalassemia: “zero” and “plus”. 

There also are a few rare types of SCD: HbSD, HbSE, and HbSO
People who have these forms of SCD inherit one sickle cell gene (“S”) and one gene from an abnormal type of hemoglobin (“D”, “E”, or “O”).  The severity of these rarer types of SCD varies.
Source: www.cdc.gov

Cause of Sickle Cell Disease: Genetics

• SCD is a genetic condition that is present at birth. It is inherited (just like eye, skin, and hair color) when a child receives two sickle cell genes —one from each parent.
• People who inherit one sickle cell gene and one normal gene have sickle cell trait (SCT). This trait can be passed on to their children.
• People cannot catch SCD from being around a person who has it.
• Did you know there's more than one way to inherit sickle cell disease? Learn More

Who is affected by Sickle Cell Disease

• It is estimated that SCD affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the United States, mostly Blacks or African Americans.


• The disease occurs among about 1 of every 365 Black or African-American births and among about 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic-American births.


• SCD affects millions of people throughout the world and is particularly common among those whose ancestors come from sub-Saharan Africa; regions in the Western Hemisphere (South America, the Caribbean, and Central America); Saudi Arabia; India; and Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy.


• Sickle Cell has many faces
• Source: CDC Fact PDF

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