Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited
blood disorder which causes “sickle” shaped red blood cells in humans. These
deformed blood cells stick with each other, blocks the blood flow and oxygen to
reach the other parts of the body. This day is observed annually with the goal to
increase public knowledge and an understanding of sickle cell disease, and the
challenges experienced by patients and their families.
This sickle cell
mutation occurs when negatively charged glutamine is replaced by a neutral
valine at the sixth position of the beta-globin chain and this mutation is
transmitted and is inherited by an autosomal co-dominant fashion. People
suffer from severe pain and has to be treated with strong painkillers like
morphine. Symptoms of sickle cell start showing from around 5 to 6 months of
age and along with the pain a person can also suffer from anemia, swelling in
the hands and feet, bacterial infections, blindness, bone damage and stroke.
The only available treatment to the
sickle cell anemia is the stem cell transplantation. Genetic counseling is very
vital to understand the possibility of inheritance of sickle cell anemia in the
family history. Periodic checkups with the doctor is very
crucial for the people suffering with sickle cell anemia to check the blood
hemoglobin, Red Blood Cells counts etc.
