What To Know About Sickle Cell Charities

By Ines Flores


Charity is a humanitarian act. There are a lot of charities in operation today that strive to support different causes, including those related to health problems. Sickle-cell disease or anemia refers to a hereditary disorder of blood that affects people globally. Numerous sickle cell charities are in existence and strive to offer research, care, education and support to those impacted by this disease.

Sickle cell is known to be painful and hard to live with, especially when not properly managed. It is a problem people of all ages may have to deal with. SCD is characterized by abnormality of hemoglobin molecules of the red blood cells. This results in cells with a rigid shape that is similar to a sickle and considered abnormal.

The disease is associated with many different acute and chronic conditions, such as sick-cell crises, increased risk of death, stroke and infections. People with this condition have taken on two abnormal copies of a gene, one from each of their parents. There are also subtypes of the disease that will differ based on the particular mutation of a gene. Some may find that a single copy is only abnormal, which is called sick-cell trait. People with this do not typically experience the same symptoms as those with the disease.

Charities of this kind often strive to support and address the many issues related to this condition. They promote and help in funding research on ways to manage, cure and reduce the occurrence of this. The donations and money raised by these organizations goes to supporting sufferers, as well as their families. This may include developing educational programs that guarantee patients are aware of how to manage this condition and what it involves. There are a lot of positives that come from the work of these charitable groups.

It is essential that people do adequate research on the charities they plan to get involved with. Most are quality and trustworthy, but there are scammers too. People should know where their donations are going and how they will be used. Many resources are available to help determine the validity of these charities. Different kinds of donations, not just monetary, may be given to help benefit the organization.

This affects thousands worldwide. People who do not manage this condition will experience severe consequences, such as shortened lifespan. A blood test, which is often done on newborns still in the hospital, is done to determine if an individual has the disease. SCD can also be detected prior to birth. Kids with SCD are more prone to developing infections and other health problems.

Unfortunately there is no remedy for all SCD sufferers. Different solutions may be used for disease management. Most charities that support this cause put funds toward researching and studying other solutions for curing, preventing or treating SCD.

There are not many long-term or permanent solutions for healing this, except for stem cell and bone marrow transplants. Both of these options are invasive and come with numerous risks. Many patients are waiting to have bone marrow transplants, but there is a high demand and not as much of a supple. Close matches are needed for marrow transplants. Typically these options are only used for severe instances of SCD.




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