Sickle+Cell+Disease-Aimie+C

Sickle Cell Disease **Description: **Sickle Cell Disease causes normal, healthy red blood cells to be in the shape of a sickle. The once round, flexible blood cells turn concave-shaped. This can make the blood cells harder to enter smaller veins. It limits the access of blood-cells to different parts of the infected person’s body. The limited access can cause the organs of the body to lose important oxygen needed to function properly.

**Inheritance: **Sickle Cell Disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive way. The disease doesn’t depend on gender. If the child gets the disease, then they are now either just a carrier or infected. Whether the person is a boy or a girl, the child can get the disease. **Punnett Square: ** **﻿ **

**Symptoms: **The symptoms can be either extremely serious or slight and mild. The symptoms include frequent infections, low red blood-cell count, delayed growth, yellowish hue to skin, and the one infected may not be able to live quite as long as someone without the diseas.

**Diagnosis: **Doctors diagnose sickle cells by screening newborns with a simple blood test. A blood sample can determine whether or not the person has the disease.

**Treatment: **Young people, as in children or babies, take penicillin. Patients take folic acid. The infected need plenty of rest. They also need to drink plenty of water. Avoiding physical activity is suggested. Blood transfusions are necessary. There may need to be bone marrow transplants.

**Interesting Facts: ** Sickle cells can only last up 10 to 20 days. This disease mostly affects African-Americans. 1 out of 500 African-American babies born in the U.S. have the disease.

**Support Groups: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">ASCAA is one out of many support groups for Sickle Cell Disease. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; line-height: 115%;">[|www.ascaa.org] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; line-height: 115%;">learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/disorders/whataregd/sicklecell/index.html
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