Sickle cell anemia is one of a group of disorders known as sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body.
Normally, the flexible, round red blood cells move easily through blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These rigid, sticky cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.
There's no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia. But treatments can relieve pain and help prevent complications associated with the disease.
Nigeria leads the world in the number of cases of sickle cell disease (SCD). An estimated 150,000 babies are born annually in Nigeria with SCD, a heredity disorder, and 70-90% die before age 5. Only a small portion of affected infants and children in sub. These dismal statistics are in sharp contrast to outcomes in high-income countries where more than 90% of SCD patients reach adulthood.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 70% of deaths could be prevented with a low-cost diagnostic and treatment plan. Meaningful preventive care and treatment cannot be implemented without a structured plan for early diagnosis and patient tracking. Early diagnosis requires improved access to parents and guardians of children with SCD.
THE "AGAINST ALL ODDS" EPISODE featuring Oluwatimileyin Edwin, A Sickle Cell Warrior, a Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) advocate especially Sickle Cell anemia, a serial entrepreneur, newsletter editor, and the founder of CrimsonBow Sickle Cell Initiative, an established not-for-profit organization focused on creating support for every sickle cell individual in Nigeria to create a world for them where they live life in all its fullness.
