Sickle Cell Anemia Essay

In order to get Sickle Cell Anemia, you must have the Sickle Cell Trait. This is defined as "A person who carries one sickle hemoglobin producing gene inherited from their parents and one normal hemoglobin gene." (3) People who only have one copy of the mutation have the trait. "It is estimated that 1 in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait." (3) Having the trait will NOT cause SCD. However, having the gene does allow you to pass the mutation on to your children. In fact, "A child conceived by two people with sickle cell trait has one chance in two of also having sickle cell trait, one chance in four of having sickle cell anemia."(3)

Because people with sickle cell trait don't have the disease, they may never discover that they carry the gene. That's why it's recommended that teens who are unsure of their sickle cell status ask their doctors about testing. The National Institutes of Health recommends that all newborns be screened for sickle cell disease, and testing at birth is now required in almost every state. This helps infants with sickle cell anemia get the care and treatment they need right away.

Sickle Cell Disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disease that occurs due to a mutation in the β-globin gene of hemoglobin. Autosomal meaning that it is not linked to a sex chromosome, so either parent can pass on the gene to their child. This mutation is a result of a single substitution of amino acids, Glutamic for Valine at position 6 of a β globin chain. The presence of this mutation causes

Health care disparity with sickle cell Disease Patient’s    Thesis Statement.   Barriers to racial health care equity include the health care system (insurance, funding), the patient (poor health literacy, fear, mistrust), the community (awareness, advocacy), and the providers (bias, attitudes, expectations, stereotyping).      Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most prevalent genetic hematological disorder worldwide predominantly affecting populations of West African and African Caribbean descent, as well as populations of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean origins (Burne, 2008). It affects about 80,000 people in the United States and is the most common inherited blood disorder (O’Cconnor, 2014). It affects 1 in every 500 births of African

It has always been assumed that genetics and lifestyle play a major role in the presence of health disparities and health care issue that affects African-Americans. This paper provides a historical background to a key disease more prevalent in the African American community, Sickle Cell Anemia, the history behind the disease, genetic mechanisms that influences once probability of inheritance and in-depth treatment on how to manage, prevent and sustain a healthy lifestyle when dealing with sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disease that alters important aspects of the body physiologically and can be inherited via genes. Sickle cell disease (SCD) was first identified in 1910 and has existed in the continent of Africa for five

According to the 2016 edition of the Oxford dictionary, to define someone or a group of people as vulnerable means that they are susceptible to physical or emotional harm (Vulnerable, 2016). One of the most recognized populations of vulnerable people are children; furthermore, by adding an inherited disease process, that decreases the immune system, would only increase the vulnerability of the population. Children with sickle cell anemia are highly susceptible to being attacked both physically and emotionally by foreign invaders that threaten their already fragile immune systems. During the process of “making hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in our red blood cells, a defect can occur when the amino acid glutamate is replaced by valine. This simple substitution can cause the red blood cell to sometimes collapse, assuming the characteristic sickle shape. The red blood cells, normally very elastic and able to conform to the shape of tiny capillary blood vessels, become rigid and can block the blood vessels, depriving tissue of oxygen and resulting in severe pain” (Stone, 2015). Sickle cell children must endure an incredible amount of pain, many hospitalizations, a pain management regimen, and the inability to experience the normal, everyday life that most of their peers participate in each day. Health care for sickle cell children is focused toward management because there is no cure and as their bodies run out of healthy red blood

Hypothesis: African-American parents with the Sickle Cell Trait have the greatest risk of passing Sickle Cell Anemia to their offspring.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) occurs in 1 out of every 365 African American births compared to 1 out of 16,000 Hispanic-American births (1). SCD is a group of red blood cell disorders in which patients have a sickle or moon-shaped red blood cell due to an abnormal S hemoglobin. While sickle cell disease is relatively rare in American births, this is an alarming statistic among people of Sub-Saharan (west and central) African descent. An interesting fact is that SCD occurs more often among people from parts of the world where malaria is or was common, such as Sub-Saharan Africa (1). In addition, it is believed that people who carry the sickle cell trait are less likely to have

People with sickle-cell anemia have to take penicillin, get extra vaccines, and get many tests done. Like most people they need to also exercise every day, have a nourishing diet, and get enough sleep every night. Sickle-cell anemia is most common in African Americans, 1 out of 365 African American children are born with two mutated hemoglobin genes or sickle-cell anemia. Sickle-cell anemia is a negative mutation of the hemoglobin gene because it prevents the oxygen from the lungs to the places its needed through the

Sickle Cell Anemia has proven to be one of the most widespread genetic diseases in America, affecting 100,000 or more individuals according to the NHBLI (2008). Each person affected by sickle cell anemia must seek out expert advice and care for combating the disease, but as of late, care has been lacking in the medical field for these patients. Therefore providing optimal care and effective treatments for patients with sickle cell anemia will involve more research and funding in the future. Studies have shown that treatment for sickle cell patients is lacking and drugs are scarce and sparse, which has left this population medically neglected. The need to focus more research and allocate more funding toward sickle cell research is evident

Sickle cell anemia affects many people around the World in areas of Africa, the Middle East and Spanish speaking countries to list a few.

This disease is also common in Hispanic, Indian, Middle Eastern and Southern European backgrounds, also roughly 100,000 Americans have Sickle Cell Anemia. Approximately 2000 babies will be born with

Family nurses play a big role in genetic counseling. The purpose of this post is to discuss a married couple that are both carriers of the sickle cell trait. They are seeking advice on what they should do before having children. I will also discuss prenatal genetic testing options, future child risks, and genetic counseling services they can use.

Thousands of years ago, a genetic mutation occurred in people from the Mediterranean basin, India, Africa, and the Middle East. As the Malaria Epidemic attacked people of these countries, carriers of the defective hemoglobin gene survived. Carrying one defective gene means that a person has a sickle cell trait. Two parents with the trait will produce a child with sickle cell anemia. People of these countries migrated and spread to other areas. In the Western Hemisphere, where malaria is not much of a problem, having the abnormal hemoglobin gene has lost its advantage. Any child born from parents that each has the trait will be born with the disease.

As an advanced practice nurse (APN), one will care for many patients with hematological disorders. Over the years the prognosis for these individuals has drastically improved. The purpose of this paper is to describe sickle cell anemia (SCA), evaluate the treatments, and discuss how age affects all of these things.