Today is World Sickle Cell Day. This day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 in order to increase awareness about sickle-cell disease.
In my book, Moment of Truth, a character has the disease. I did extensive research and interviewed someone with the disease. I hope I did it justice.
Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited, genetic and potentially fatal disease. About 80% of people with the disease are African-Americans. The only known cure is a blood marrow or stem cell transplant.
A person with sickle-cell anemia suffers from anemia due to the abnormal shaped red blood cells. These “sickle” shaped cells get stuck in the small blood vessels and cause blockage. Blood vessels and body organs cannot get oxygen which leads to health problems like severe pain, organ damage or failure, severe infections, stroke, headache, liver problems, heart problems and more.
To learn more, you can start here: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/index.html
Do you know anyone that suffers from this disease?