Sickle Cell Anemia Research Paper

Being afflicted with any disease or medical condition takes a toll not only to the patient but to family members as well. In general, lives of all involved change and so with the family members. The sacrifice that each one has to undertake sometimes is overwhelming. There is also the financial burden to take into consideration and the stress that goes with the ailment. Sickle cell anemia is one of the life-long diseases that is life changing. This research gives a better understanding of the condition.

DISEASE DESCRIPTION Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. In order for cells in tissues to work well, there should be a maintained supply of oxygen. The main job of the hemoglobin is to

Because of the stickiness and no longer flexible, this causes blockage or delays or totally stops the flow of blood thus, oxygen is not delivered to the nearby tissues. The red sickling and poor delivery of oxygen causes organ damage. Over a lifetime, SCD can damage a person’s heart, liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys, penis, brain, eyes, liver, skin, bones or joints. The tendency of the sickle cells is to burst or hemolyze because the shape can’t change easily. The life span of normal red blood cells is about 90-120 compared to sickle cells that last only for 10-20 days. The body’s compensatory mechanism is always making new red blood cells to replace the old cells. But in SCD, the body cannot keep up with how fast the destruction of cells is and that explains why the body is left to be always in an anemic state (NHLBI, 2015). Millions of people worldwide are affected by the sickle cell disease. It is more common in people of Africa, Mediterranean descent, South and Central America, the Middle East and the Caribbean (Genetics Home Reference, 2016). Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited disorder in the United States, affecting 70-80,000 Americans. Occurrence is 1 in 1,000 to 1,400 Hispanic Americans and 1 in 500 African Americans (Genetics Home Reference,