about scd

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About Sickle Cell Disease

In the United States, SCD affects primarily people of African descent. But this pattern of prevalence is changing, with increasing numbers with SCD being found among Hispanics, Native Americans and Caucasians. SCD affects a large percentage of people in Central America as well as significant numbers in the Caribbean and in South American countries such as Brazil. In the Mediterranean countries, SCD is found in people of Portuguese and Spanish descent, as well as in French Corsicans, Sardinians, Sicilians, mainland Italians, Greeks, Turks and Cypriots. Prevalence is increasing in other European countries such as France, Germany, and the UK, due to both to newborns (new incidence) as well as migration from African countries.

Sickle Cell Disease also affects large numbers of people in Middle Eastern countries, Indian and Asia. And approximately 60 percent of the global number of SCD cases are in Africa. SCD is the most frequently occurring genetic disease on earth.

Approximately 1 in 12 African-Americans are carriers of the Sickle Cell Trait. Many more are afflicted worldwide. The average life expectancy of someone who suffers from SCD in America is about 40 years. Where treatments are not readily available, they often die in early childhood. In underdeveloped countries, 60-to-80 percent of babies`with SCD die before two years of age.

SCD causes lung tissue damage, pain episodes and stroke. The blockage of blood flow caused by sickled cells also causes damage to most organs including the spleen, kidneys and liver.

There are several types of sickle cell disease. The most common are: Sickle Cell Anemia (SS), Sickle-Hemoglobin C Disease (SC), Sickle Beta-Plus Thalassemia and Sickle Beta-Zero Thalassemia.

Did You Know?

Bone marrow/stem cell transplant can cure sickle cell disease.

Bone marrow is a soft, fatty tissue inside the center of the bones where blood cells are made. A bone marrow/stem cell transplant is a procedure that takes healthy cells that form blood from one person - the donor - and puts them into someone whose bone marrow is not working properly.

Facts About Sickle Cell

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 to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In sickle cell disease, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a sickle cell. 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.

September is National Sickle Cell Month

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Americans. It affects people of many different racial and ethnic groups.