Abstract
Sickle cell disease is an illness in the blood that normally affects people of African American descent, as well as people of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin. There are numerous types of sickle cell disease. The three most common are HbSS, HbSC and HbS Beta Thalassemia. There are also rare types such as: HbSD, HbSE, and HbSO. Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease. It is caused by receiving two abnormal genes from both parents, who either have the disease themselves or are sickle cell trait carriers. This disease is produced by a genetic change in hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein in red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are round in shape. A person with sickle cell disease has curved or sickled shape red blood …show more content…
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sickle cell disease is most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America, the Caribbean, Mediterranean, India, and Saudi Arabia. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute also reports that in the United States, it's probable that sickle cell disease affects 70,000–100,000 people, mainly African Americans. The disease ensues in about 1 out of every 500 African American births. Sickle cell disease also affects Hispanic Americans. The disease transpires in more than 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic American births. They also predict that more than 2 million Americans have the sickle cell trait. Sickle cell trait is a gene that if combined with the gene of another person who also has the sickle cell trait will produce a child with sickle cell disease (SCD). The condition occurs in about 1 in 12 African Americans. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2012 p.1) Sickle cell disease comes in many different forms. There are three common types: HbSS, HbSC and HbS Beta Thalassemia. There are also rare types such as: HbSD, HbSE, and …show more content…
It is a chronic, incurable condition that causes the body to produce defective hemoglobin. This forces red blood cells to assume an abnormal crescent shape, very different from the normal round cells. These fragile sickle cells can't hold enough hemoglobin to sustain body tissues. The mutated shape makes it problematic for sickle cells to pass through narrow blood vessels. When capillaries become obstructed, a life-threatening condition called sickle cell crisis is to be expected. Sickle cell anemia is hereditary. It almost always affects African Americans and people of Mediterranean descent. A child who inherits the sickle cell gene from each parent will have the disease. A child who inherits the sickle cell gene from only one parent will likely carry the sickle cell trait, but will not develop the disease. Medical Assessment online provided the illustration below of normal to sickled red blood cells. (Maureen Haggerty & Teresa G. Odle, 2015,
Sickle cell disease is an illness in the blood that normally affects people of African American descent, as well as people of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin. There are numerous types of sickle cell disease. The three most common are HbSS, HbSC and HbS Beta Thalassemia. There are also rare types such as: HbSD, HbSE, and HbSO. Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease. It is caused by receiving two abnormal genes from both parents, who either have the disease themselves or are sickle cell trait carriers. This disease is produced by a genetic change in hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein in red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are round in shape. A person with sickle cell disease has curved or sickled shape red blood …show more content…
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sickle cell disease is most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America, the Caribbean, Mediterranean, India, and Saudi Arabia. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute also reports that in the United States, it's probable that sickle cell disease affects 70,000–100,000 people, mainly African Americans. The disease ensues in about 1 out of every 500 African American births. Sickle cell disease also affects Hispanic Americans. The disease transpires in more than 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic American births. They also predict that more than 2 million Americans have the sickle cell trait. Sickle cell trait is a gene that if combined with the gene of another person who also has the sickle cell trait will produce a child with sickle cell disease (SCD). The condition occurs in about 1 in 12 African Americans. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2012 p.1) Sickle cell disease comes in many different forms. There are three common types: HbSS, HbSC and HbS Beta Thalassemia. There are also rare types such as: HbSD, HbSE, and …show more content…
It is a chronic, incurable condition that causes the body to produce defective hemoglobin. This forces red blood cells to assume an abnormal crescent shape, very different from the normal round cells. These fragile sickle cells can't hold enough hemoglobin to sustain body tissues. The mutated shape makes it problematic for sickle cells to pass through narrow blood vessels. When capillaries become obstructed, a life-threatening condition called sickle cell crisis is to be expected. Sickle cell anemia is hereditary. It almost always affects African Americans and people of Mediterranean descent. A child who inherits the sickle cell gene from each parent will have the disease. A child who inherits the sickle cell gene from only one parent will likely carry the sickle cell trait, but will not develop the disease. Medical Assessment online provided the illustration below of normal to sickled red blood cells. (Maureen Haggerty & Teresa G. Odle, 2015,