What is sickle cell? It is an inherited disorder where the oxygen carrying content of blood (haemoglobin)is inefficient to carry oxygen round the body .. The normal red cell is about 8um in diameter and oval in shape but in sickle cell anaemia the cell appear to be sickle .
Now my question remains why the sudden increase increase of sickle cell patients,shouldn't the knowledge of genotype curtail the increase of sickle cell patients.
Different blood genotypes are :AS,AA,AC,SS ,SC.
The sickle cell crises on increase in developing countries are due to lack of ignorance of the knowledge of genotype prior to marriage and this knowledge of genotyping should be taught from from high school to reduce the number of crises we encounter in hospitals and at home sometimes.
Compatible genotype matches for marriage are:AA to AA is compatible AS to AA is compatible . AS to AS had a high tendency to birth an SS genotype this happens when the S in both parents combine together to become dominant.
Crisis in sickle cell patients include: fever ,this can be due to massive destruction of red blood cells inappropriately, recurrent and unexplainable pain in the joints ,chest and bones. abdominal swelling , jaundiced skin or eyes, swelling in the hands or feet .
Prevention of increasing rate of sickle cell cases:
For One who has the sickle cell trait, seeing a genetic counselor before trying to conceive can help you understand your risk of having a child with sickle cell anemia. They can also explain possible treatments, preventive measures and reproductive options. Also going for a genotype test should be imbibed as a culture before marriage no one needs to suffer from sickle cell crises it's very terrible and eventually leads to death in most cases.
