{"id":14964,"date":"2020-08-20T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=14964"},"modified":"2021-04-16T15:14:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T19:14:15","slug":"sickle-cell-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/sickle-cell-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"What is sickle cell disease (and how is it treated)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sickle cell disease<\/span><\/a> (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders that affect the red blood cells, specifically a molecule in these cells called hemoglobin that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. According to the <\/span>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/a> (CDC), the condition affects millions of people around the world, including an estimated 100,000 people in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you get sickle cell disease?<\/span><\/h2>\n

For a person to have sickle cell disease, both parents must pass the defective form of the hemoglobin gene to their child. If only one parent passes the gene, the child will inherit the sickle cell trait. This means their blood may have some sickle cells, but they don\u2019t normally get ill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sickle cell patients have distorted hemoglobin molecules that stretch red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape. These cells are rigid, and their membrane is damaged and easily destroyed. While a normal red blood cell lives in the body\u2019s circulation for 120 days, sickle cells live around 18 or 19 days. Sickle cells block small blood vessels (capillaries), which slows blood flow to different organs and may cause long-term organ damage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the primary abnormality lies within the red cell, sickle cell disease becomes a multisystem disease,\u201d says <\/span>Abdullah Kutlar, MD<\/span><\/a>, adult hematologist and director of the Sickle Cell Center at Augusta University. \u201cThe clinical complications affect all organs in the body from head to toe. It’s associated with stroke, affects the eyes, lungs, spleen, and bones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sickle cell disease mostly affects people whose ancestors came from sub-Saharan Africa, Spanish-speaking regions of the Western Hemisphere (South America, the Caribbean, and Central America), India, and some Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. Sickle cell disease happens more often in people from parts of the world where malaria is common\u2014either today or in the past. People who carry the sickle cell trait have a better chance of survival against malaria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sickle cell disease happens in 1 out of every 365 African American births; around 1 in 13 Black babies in the U.S. is born with the sickle cell trait.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>9 questions to ask a doctor if you\u2019re Black, indigenous, or a person of color<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Types of sickle cell disease<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sickle cell disease is a broad term that includes many different forms of the condition. These are the most common types of SCD:<\/span><\/p>\n