preview

Sickle Cell Disease : A Life Long Illness

Good Essays

Sickle Cell Sickle cell disease is a life-long illness. The severity of the disease varies widely from person to person.
In high-income countries like the United States, the life expectancy of a person with SCD is now about 40–60 years. In 1973, the average lifespan of a person with SCD in the United States was only 14 years. Advances in the diagnosis and care of SCD have made this improvement possible. Sickle Cell disease affects mostly African, Mediterranean and related ancestries it is passed on through generational traits and common related blood type. Sickle Cell disease is a disease that causes painful attacks called crises; which causes throbbing in their bones and backs. Sickle cell is caused by a protein that is abnormal called hemoglobin S which causes the shape of red blood cells to change into a sickle or crescent type shape. (George Buchanan, 2010) Cells in tissues need a steady supply of oxygen to work well. Normally, hemoglobin in red blood cells takes up oxygen in the lungs and carries it to all the tissues of the body. Red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin are disc shaped (like a doughnut without a hole). This shape allows the cells to be flexible so that they can move through large and small blood vessels to deliver oxygen. Sickle hemoglobin is not like normal hemoglobin. Sickle-shaped cells are not flexible and can stick to vessel walls, causing a blockage that slows or stops the flow of blood. When this happens, oxygen can’t reach nearby

Get Access