By Jankey Ceesay
Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition that causes the body to produce red blood cells incorrectly. Normal red blood cells are flexible and disc-shaped, allowing oxygen to travel throughout the body. Blood cells affected by the sickle cell trait become hard and crescent-shaped. The altered shape makes it difficult for the cells to move through small blood vessels, resulting in blockages that restrict the flow of oxygen and cause episodes of painful swelling, known as a crisis.
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) impacts the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. It is caused by a change in hemoglobin genes that carry oxygen inside red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are smooth, flexible discs shaped like the letter O and move easily through a child’s blood vessels. Sickle cells, on the other hand, are stiff and sticky and are often shaped like the letter C.
They tend to cluster together at the lining of blood vessels, making it difficult for them to move through small blood vessels. These clusters can create blockages and can stop the movement of healthy, oxygen-carrying blood. This blockage decreases oxygen delivery to the tissues and organs, which can cause pain and organ dysfunction. It is also what causes the majority of sickle cell complications such as anemia, pain, acute chest syndrome and stroke.
Between 2000 and 2021, according to a research published in The Lancet, national incidence rates of sickle cell disease were relatively stable, but total births of babies with sickle cell disease increased globally by 13.7%, primarily due to population growth in the Caribbean and western and central sub-Saharan Africa.
It added the number of people living with sickle cell disease globally increased by 41.4%, from 5.46 million in 2000 to 7.74 million in 2021.
They stated that they estimated 34, 400 cause-specific all-age deaths globally in 2021, but total sickle cell disease mortality burden was nearly 11-times higher at 376 000. In children younger than 5 years, there were 81 100 deaths, ranking total sickle cell disease mortality as 12th (compared to 40th for calise-specific sickle cell disease mortality) across all causes estimated by the GBD in 2021.
Myths associated with Sickle Cell
Myths are widely held believes, however, mostly false. There are several of those believes associated with this disease.
People without expert knowledge come up with myths about the illness and this is not only misleading, it can cause other complications to carriers.
Debunking Common Myths and Misconceptions
- Myth: All individuals with SCD are drug addicts.
FACT: The hallmark of Sickle Cell Disease is severe unpredictable pain sometimes requiring high doses of narcotics.
- MYTH: Sickle cell trait is a mild form of sickle cell disease.
FACT: Sickle cell trait is not a disease; it is generally an asymptomatic carrier state. If both parents have sickle cell trait, there is a 1 in 4 chance of having a baby with SCD.
- MYTH: Individuals with SCD don’t live past the age of 21.
FACT: The vast majority of individuals live well into adulthood. Early diagnosis helps doctors prevent infections and stroke, which previously caused high mortality rates in children with SCD.
- MYTH: SCD only affects black people.
FACT: SCD is seen in people of many races. SCD does not discriminate based on ethnicity or skin color. Anyone of any ethnicity can have SCD. Whether children are born with SCD depends only on their parents’ SCD status, not their ethnicity.
- MYTH: Bone marrow (stem cell) transplant is a universal cure.
FACT: Not all individuals with SCD are eligible for stem cell transplant. There are associated risks.
- MYTH: SCD is a contagious blood borne disease
FACT: SCD is a genetic condition present at birth. People only have SCD if they inherit an abnormal hemoglobin gene from each parent. Therefore, children can only have SCD if both parents have an abnormal hemoglobin gene. It is not possible to get infected by the blood of someone who has SCD. SCD is not contagious, and you cannot “catch” SCD.
Find more myths and misconceptions about SCD HERE, HERE, and HERE
