Sickle Cell Amenia: A Change of the Blood

A Change of the Blood

Sickle Cell Anemia is a blood disorder which is passed down from parents to a child. Many people have Sickle Cell Anemia in the U.S and around the world. These people have a wide variety of symptoms, varying from semi-severe to life threatening problems while others live with little to no recognizable symptoms.

Sickle Cell Anemia is caused by a genetic mutation in the hemoglobin inside of red blood cells. The mutation occurs in the hemoglobin gene on the 11chromosome. The mutation causes the red blood cell to get deformed in to a rod shape similar to a farmers Sickle, hence the name. Sickling of the red blood cells is when the cell polymerizes into rigid rods that alter the shape allowing them to get trapped in small blood vessels. (Laberge, p3) The sickle cell disease can help reduce the chance of the malaria in the patient, by the sickle cell dyeing faster than malaria can take effect. Sickle Cell Anemia is an autosomal recessive disease. The chance that a new born baby will have the disease is dependent on the parents and whether or not they have the trait or disease. If both parents have the disease or trait the child has a 25% chance to have Sickle Cell Anemia. The child also has a 25% chance to not have the disease or trait at all. There is also a 50% chance that the child just has the trait, which causes no health problems, but allows the disease to get passed on to the next generation.

Sickle Cell Anemia can drastically affect someone’s way of life in many ways. From early childhood and the rest of your life, you will be at the mercy of modern medicine to ease you of your pain and ward off infections. The disease is also life threatening, people with this disease suffer from strokes,...

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...int Problems - Compromised blood flow causes bone damage. This can occur late in childhood and can greatly affect the joint movement with pain.

Although the average life span for people who have the sickle cell disease is less than a normal one. They can still live a productive life with the proper care and medical treatment when needed. At this time the disease does not have a cure, though modern medicine is getting better at numbing the pain and stopping the symptoms.

References

Heterozygote superiority. (n.d.). In World of biology. Retrieved from Gale Science in Context database. (Accession No. CV2431500311)

Sickle cell anemia. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2014, from WebMD website: http://www.webmd.com/default.htm

Sickle cell disease. (2011). In The gale encyclopedia of medicine. Retrieved from Gale Science in Context database. (Accession No. DU2601001701)