Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder that causes problems with your hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein that is found in your blood and its main role is to carry oxygen throughout your body. In sickle cell disorder, the hemoglobin is formed in the shape of stiff rods inside the red blood cells. Due to this unusual shape of the hemoglobin the shape of the cell also gets deformed and becomes sickle-shaped or crescent-shaped instead of having its normal shape like a disc.
These sickle-shaped blood cells are not flexible and can not alter their change easily and these cells are also brittle that is many of them burst apart as they move through your blood vessels. Another problem with this disease is that the blood cells are short-lived and only last for 10 to 20 days instead of the normal 90 to 120 days. Due to this, your body might face trouble in making new cells so frequently and this often leads to the feeling of tiredness.
Sickle cell is an inherited disorder ad is caused when you receive two genes of sickle cell from both your parents and if you have one gene of sickle cell you are considered a carrier of the disease called sickle cell trait. People with the single gene of sickle cell are generally healthy and do not show any symptoms but there are chances that you can pass the defective gene to your children.
Diagnosis of sickle cell anemia – if you have the disease or you are a carrier of this disorder it is suggested to get a prenatal test to determine whether the fetus has the same disorder or not. This can be done by amniocentesis which uses a sample of amniotic fluid to check for the disorder.
CVS is also a prenatal test and can be used to find out about the same.
Treatment- the only cure for sickle cell disorder is the transplantation of stem cells or bone marrow.
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