Sickle Cell Charities For Children Will Help Families With Free Medical Care

By Marci Glover


There is a low level of healthy red blood cells in children who have sickle cell anemia. They are ill because these blood cells are not providing the necessary function of carrying oxygen to all body parts. Coping with this disease is difficult. Sickle cell charities for children help the victims and their families.

Although there is no cure, in most cases pain can be alleviated. The signs appear after the age of four months. They include, but, are not limited to fatigue, a painful crisis, swelling in the hands and feet and damage to the retinas, causing vision problems.

If not diagnosed during infancy, the symptoms may be exhibited during childhood. It should be considered an emergency situation of he or she has severe abdominal pain or swelling, a yellow color to skin or eyes, fever or symptoms usually associated with stroke. These would include partial paralysis on one side of the face or body.

The child will not be a sufferer if only one parent has the defective gene. Both parents must be afflicted before a child can inherit it. It can be passed from generation to generation, even when symptoms are not apparent.

It is not a given that all babies of a mother and father who carry the trait will suffer from sickle cell anemia. They have a twenty-five percent risk of their baby being born with the disease. The possibility of them having a baby who is a carrier is fifty-percent.

It can result in the death of the stricken infant or child. Watch for symptoms of a stroke, which occurs when the dysfunctional red blood cells block the flow of blood to the brain. Numbness in the arms and legs will be noticeable. Speech disorders may become evident.

An infant or child can suffer a stroke due to the malfunction of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. In the child with sickle cell, these cells are abnormally-shaped and few in number. There may be a sudden speech disorder, weak arms and legs and loss of consciousness.

Pulmonary hypertension can develop. This is evidenced by high blood pressure in the lungs. It shows up as difficult breathing including shortness of breath.

When the sickle cells block the flow of oxygen, organ damage can result. It affects the kidneys, spleen and liver. It can prove fatal.

The child may go blind. This is due to the tiny blood vessels responsible for delivering oxygen to the eyes becoming obstructed. Vision is then lost over time. Gallstones are yet another disturbing possibility.

Well-known charities improve the lives of children who are stricken with this damaging genetic disease. They provide the leading hematologists, doctors who specialize in blood disorders, and specialized nursing care. One of the latest developments is stem-cell transplantation surgery.

One medical hospital has been involved in research into this disease since 1962. Research grants fund this research. Donations from individuals and organizations add to the funding. The hospital does not charge for treatment of the children.

There is no cure for this genetic disorder. It can only be prevented. Potential parents from the ethnic groups affected can be tested to determine if they carry the gene. If both have this genetic defect, they can decide not to have babies who may live a life of illness and suffering.




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