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What is Sickle Cell Disease?
Sickle Cell Disease is a blood disorder affecting a person’s red blood cells. Normal red blood cells flow freely within the blood vessels. Sticky sickle cells block the blood flow within the blood vessels.
Who is Affected?
Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited disorder that affects an astonishing number of people. In North America alone, 100,000 people have Sickle Cell Disease. One in 12 African-Americans or three million people in North America carry the sickle cell trait and can pass the disease to their children.
Why is Funding Needed?
Sickle Cell Disease affects three times as many people in the US as does Cystic Fibrosis and yet Cystic Fibrosis receives 27 times more funding per person than SCD.
Bone Marrow Transplant Significantly Alleviates Healthcare System Costs of SCD.
The treatment of SCD patients is estimated to cost the US healthcare system $2 billion annually. The total lifetime healthcare cost for someone with SCD living to age 50 is estimated to be $8 Million. Bone Marrow Transplant is estimated to cost $432K the year of transplant, which is significantly less than the cost for a lifetime of supportive care.
