-If both parents have sickle cell trait (HbAS) there is a one in four (25%) chance that any given child could be born with sickle cell anemia. There is also a one in four chance that any given child could be completely unaffected. There is a one in two (50%) chance that any given child will get the sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell anemia patients with severe chest or back pain that prevents them from breathing deeply may be able to avoid potentially serious lung complications associated with acute chest syndrome by using an incentive Spiro meter. This is a small plastic device, shaped like a tube, with a ball inside. The patient must breathe into it hard enough to force the ball up the tube, so using it helps the patient breathe more deeply. Most complications of sickle cell anemia are treated as they occur. For example, laser coagulation and other types of eye surgery may be used to prevent further vision loss in patients with eye problems. Surgery may be recommended for certain kinds of organ damage for example, to remove gallstones or replace a hip joint. Leg ulcers may be treated with cleansing solutions and zinc oxide, or with skin grafts if the condition persists (Liu, Agarwal, Kmiec, Davis)

-Eye problems can occur when the retina, the "film" at the back of the eye that receives and processes visual images, does not get enough nourishment from circulating red blood cells, it can deteriorate. Damage to the retina can be serious enough to cause blindness.

One approach to treating sickle cell disease is to rekindle production of fetal hemoglobin. The drug, hydroxyurea induces fetal hemoglobin production in some patients with sickle cell disease and improves condition of patients (FDA Consumer). There is some evidence that administering hydroxyurea with erythropoietin, a genetically engineered hormone that stimulates red cell production, may make hydroxyurea work better. This combination approach offers the possibility that lower doses of hydroxyurea can be used to achieve the needed level of fetal hemoglobin. However, both of these drugs may produce serious side effects, so researchers continue to search for safer agents that are just as effective.

ows and becomes to big to pass through most blood vessels, mostly capillaries and veins, which causes it to form a clumped together mass. The blood vessel where this happens is mostly associated with the joints and the lungs. Unlike normal red blood cells, which last about 120 days in the bloodstream, sickled red cells die after only about 10 to 20 days. Because they cannot be replaced fast enough, the blood is chronically short of red blood cells, a condition called anemia. When this happens, the child or adult experiences great amounts of pain, making it almost impossible for them to ambulate. The joints get swollen and red. Another condition is that the clump of misshaped blood cells still can travel to the vessels of the heart but cause a blockage there also. This is called thrombosis (Parker, Parker).

Some topics in this essay:
Cell Society, Cell Anemia, Chest Syndrome, FDA Consumer, Campbell Reece, Cleve Lemerond, Davis Regular, Parker Parker, Kmiec Davis, sickle cell, Segments DNA, cell anemia, sickle cell anemia, blood cells, fetal hemoglobin, sickle cell trait, cell trait, people sickle cell, people sickle, red blood, red blood cells, chance child, gene therapy, hemoglobin gene, parent sickle cell,