Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) falls under the category of many Sickle Cells Diseases, and a type of anemia. Anemia is when the count of red blood cells are lower than usual. Sickle Cell Diseases are diseases that affects the hemoglobin. Sickle Cell Anemia is a disease in which the red blood cells form a crescent shape, making it harder for them to flow freely. This results in them blocking pathways, preventing the blood from flowing freely. The hemoglobin forms into strands, that creates the sickle shape of the blood. Sickle Cell Anemia is recessive autosomal disease, which means that in order to get the disease, you must carry one of your mother’s Sickle Cell gene, and one of your father’s. There is no cure for the disease, but there are many different treatments. The side effects of treatments are both positive and negative on the receiver (5).
Sickle Cell Anemia has no cure, but there are different forms of treatment. The treatments mostly help with the pain and the symptoms of SCA. The treatments help prevent infections, damage to organs, strokes, and they also help prevent any complications from developing. For some people, blood and bone marrow transplants could play the role of a cure. Younger recipients between the ages of 1 and 5, are medicated with antibiotics, and are vaccinated to prevent infections that SCA can make them prone to (11). Another form of treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia is blood transfusions. The transfusion helps with SCA, because it adds more normal blood cells into the blood stream. The problem with blood transfusions is that they sometimes have side effects, so they aren’t given regularly (12). Hydroxycarbamide is an alternative for treating SCA. It is usually used to treat cell-related diseases, such as Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, and Cervical Cancer. Hydroxycarbamide slows down the process of cell division, to reduce the numbers of infected cells. A side effect of Hydroxycarbamide is that it lowers the ...