Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease is a group of blood disorders causing a constant shortage of red blood cells when the sickle cells die early (CDC). Sickle cell disease is inherited and diagnosed at birth when both parents pass on a sickle cell gene (CDC). There are over 100,000 patients living with sickle cell disease in the U.S., but most people with SCD are Black with 1 in 13 Black babies born with sickle cell trait (Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee).