# data[].attributes.body
Many research studies are going on how to use genetic therapy, blood, and bone marrow transplants to discover new treatments for patients with sickle cell anemia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The NHLBI leads and supports research on sickle cell disease to develop new treatments and ways to improve quality of life.

# data[].attributes.body
Sickle Cell affects about 100,000 Americans. It affects 1 out of 365 African American births and 1 out of 16,300 Hispanic American births.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease in the world.

Commonly found in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America (especially Panama), Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries (such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy), India, and Saudi Arabia.

Currently, approximately 250 million people worldwide carry the gene responsible for sickle cell disease and other hemoglobin diseases. Each year about 300,000 infants are born with a major hemoglobin disease worldwide.

In the United States

The exact number of people living with SCD in the U.S. is unknown. Working with partners, the CDC supports projects to learn about the number of people living with SCD to better understand how the disease impacts their health.

It is estimated that:

SCD affects approximately 100,000 Americans.

SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births.

SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic-American births.

About 1 in 13 Black or African-American babies is born with sickle cell trait (SCT).

There are approximately 90,000 individuals with sickle cell disease in the United States with 10% of the population at risk for sickle cell disease. It is estimated that there are 5,000 with the disease living in Los Angeles County, however the actual figure is currently unknown.

Annually, in California approximately 150 babies are identified with sickle cell disease and one in every 70 infants is identified with sickle cell trait or another hemoglobin trait, the carrier status for sickle cell disease and other hemoglobin diseases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Who is affected by Sickle Cell Disease? - Sickle Cell Disease Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Commonly found in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America (especially Panama), Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries (such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy), India, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, approximately 250 million people worldwide carry the gene responsible for sickle cell disease and other hemoglobin diseases.

# data[].attributes.body
The Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California is dedicated to research of sickle cell anemia and providing programs, education, and family support for people with the disease.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Sickle Cell Disease Foundation provides life-enhancing education, services and programs for individuals living with sickle cell disease. We broaden public awareness, deliver effective advocacy initiatives, and promote innovative therapies to ultimately find a cure.

# data[].attributes.body
the only cure right now is a blood and marrow transplant

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
blood and bone marrow transplant for sickle cell disease

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
genetic therapies and sickle cell disease

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A blood and bone marrow transplant is currently the only cure for some patients who have sickle cell disease. Medicines to treat sickle cell disease include voxelotor, hydroxyurea, crizanlizumab-tmca, L-glutamine, ibuprofen, and penicillin. Blood transfusions can also help. Researchers are studying genetic therapies with the hope of finding a cure.

# data[].attributes.body
- episodes of pain
- swelling hands and feet
- delayed growth
- vision problems
- anemia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sickle cell anemia-Sickle cell anemia - Symptoms & causes - Mayo Clinic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the symptoms, causes and treatment of this inherited blood disorder that, in the United States, is more common among Black people.

# data[].attributes.body
For a child to have sickle cell they have to get a gene from both parents. Most parents are carriers and the child will inherit this disease.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sickle cell disease is caused by inheriting the sickle cell gene.
It's not caused by anything the parents did before or during the pregnancy and you cannot catch it from someone who has it.

How sickle cell disease is inherited

Genes come in pairs. You inherit 1 set from your mother and 1 set from your father.

To be born with sickle cell disease, a child has to inherit a copy of the sickle cell gene from both their parents.

This usually happens when both parents are "carriers" of the sickle cell gene, also known as having the sickle cell trait.

Or it can happen when 1 parent has sickle cell disease and the other is a carrier of it.

Sickle cell carriers do not have sickle cell disease themselves, but there's a chance they could have a child with sickle cell disease if their partner is also a carrier.

If both parents are sickle cell carriers, there's a:

1 in 4 chance each child they have will not inherit any sickle cell genes and will not have sickle cell disease or be able to pass it on

1 in 2 chance each child they have will just inherit a copy of the sickle cell gene from 1 parent and be a carrier

1 in 4 chance each child they have will inherit copies of the sickle cell gene from both parents and will be born with sickle cell disease

The Sickle Cell Society has more information about the inheritance of sickle cell disease, including what the risks are if a parent has sickle cell disease themselves.

Who's most at risk of sickle cell disease

In the UK, sickle cell disease is most commonly seen in people of African and Caribbean backgrounds.

A simple blood test will show whether you're a carrier. This is done routinely during pregnancy and after birth, but you can ask to have the test at any time.

Read more about getting tested for the sickle cell trait and being a sickle cell carrier.

How sickle cell disease affects the body

Your genes are the set of instructions found inside every cell in your body. They determine characteristics like the colour of your eyes and hair.

People with sickle cell disease do not make haemoglobin properly. Haemoglobin is a substance in red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.

Normal red blood cells are flexible and disc-shaped, but in sickle cell disease they can become rigid and shaped like a crescent or sickle because the haemoglobin inside them clumps together.

These unusual cells can cause symptoms of sickle cell disease because they do not live as long as normal red blood cells and can become stuck in blood vessels.

Page last reviewed: 30 November 2022
Next review due: 30 November 2025

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sickle cell disease is caused by inheriting the sickle cell gene. It's not caused by anything the parents did before or during the pregnancy and you cannot catch it from someone who has it. Genes come in pairs. You inherit 1 set from your mother and 1 set from your father.

# data[].attributes.body
Hemoglobin SS, Hemoglobin SC disease, Hemoglobin Sickle beta-thalassemia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Anemia

A reduced number of red blood cells. Anemia occurs in persons with sickle cell disease because the sickled red cells do not live as long as normal red blood cells. The individual cannot make red blood cells fast enough to equal the loss of the sickled red blood cells.

Carrier

An individual who possesses and can transmit the gene for a given disease but does not exhibit the disease.

Congenital

Conditions present at birth.

Gene

The biological units that are passed from both parents to a child. Genes determine our various characteristics such as hair color and texture, eye and skin color, height, etc., including the kind of hemoglobin in the red blood cells.

Genetic Counseling

A communication process between health care provider and client that emphasizes providing accurate and up-to-date information about a genetic disorder in a sensitive and supportive, non-directive manner.

Hemoglobin

A protein in the red blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body and gives blood its red color.

Hemoglobin C Trait (AC)

The inheritance of one gene for normal hemoglobin (A), and one gene for hemoglobin (C). A person who has hemoglobin C Trait (AC) is a carrier of the hemoglobin C gene, and is not affected by the gene.

Hemoglobin Electrophoresis (e-lek-tro-for-e-sis)

A laboratory technique to determine the type of hemoglobin an individual has. When you pass an electric charge through a solution of hemoglobin, distinct hemoglobins move different distances, depending on their composition. This technique differentiates between normal hemoglobin (A) , sickle hemoglobin (S) and other different kinds of hemoglobin (such as C, D. E . etc.).

Hemoglobin F (Hemoglobin F)

The hemoglobin found in infants. Fetal hemoglobin decreases in quantity throughout the first year of life.

Hemoglobinopathy ( he-ma-glo-been-nop-a-the )

A term used to describe disorders caused by the presence of abnormal hemoglobin reproduction in the blood.

Heredity

The transmission of physical and emotional traits and characteristics from parents to offspring.

Inherit

To receive certain defined characteristics from a parent by transmission of the genes in the egg and sperm.

Jaundice

Yellowing of the skin and eyes, results from rapid breakdown of red blood cells.

Pain Event or Painful Episode (also known as sickle crisis)

Pain due to blockage of the blood vessels by sickled blood cells. Pain is most often felt in the arms, legs, back, and abdomen. The pain may last only a few hours or as long as a week or two. The pain may be mild or so severe that pain medicine is needed. The number of pain events a person has may vary greatly.

Red Blood Cells ( RBCs )

The blood cells that carry oxygen.

Sickle Cell Anemia (SS)

The most common form of sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia is the result of the inheritance of the gene for sickle hemoglobin (S) from both parents.

Sickle Cell Conditions

Sickle cell trait and the various types of sickle cell disease.

Sickle Cell Disease

An inherited disorder of the red blood cells in which anemia is present and sickle hemoglobin is produced. There are three common types of sickle cell disease in the United States: Hemoglobin SS or sickle cell anemia, Hemoglobin SC disease, and Hemoglobin Sickle beta-thalassemia.

Sickle Cell Trait (AS)

The inheritance of one gene for normal hemoglobin (A) and one gene for sickle hemoglobin (S) . A person who has sickle cell trait (AS) is a carrier of the sickle gene, does not have the disease, and is generally not affected by the sickle hemoglobin.

Sickled Cells

In persons with sickle cell disease, hemoglobin S in red blood cells stick to one another and cause the red cells to become crescent or sickle shaped. Sickled cells cannot pass easily through tiny blood vessels.

Thalassemia ( thal-as-seem-me-yah )

A group of inherited diseases of the blood that affect a person's ability to produce hemoglobin in their red blood cells.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
long-chain hydroxy acyl-coa dehydrogenase deficiency (lchad)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
very long-chain acyl-coa dehydrogenase deficiency (vlcad)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A reduced number of red blood cells. Anemia occurs in persons with sickle cell disease because the sickled red cells do not live as long as normal red blood cells. The individual cannot make red blood cells fast enough to equal the loss of the sickled red blood cells.