The sickle cell realities that rarely make the headlines
A disease that shapes every day Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects hemoglobin, the protein inside red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen. In people with the condition, hemoglobin forms rigid, crescent-shaped structures that cause red blood cells to become stiff, sticky, and fragile rather than the flexible, disc-shaped cells that […]
Sickle cell breakthroughs — the gene therapy advances that could change everything for patients
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects approximately 100,000 Americans, with Black Americans accounting for the vast majority of those diagnosed. For most of the history of this disease, treatment options were limited primarily to managing the painful vaso-occlusive crises that define the lived experience of sickle cell, preventing complications with a […]
What is it like to live inside a body with sickle cell, where pain can arrive without warning
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder caused by a mutation in the gene encoding hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen. In people with this condition, the mutation causes red blood cells to form a rigid crescent shape rather than the flexible disc that allows normal red blood cells […]