Sickle cell is the most commonly inherited blood disease, causing waves of intense pain and damage to vital organs. There have been cases that resulted in death in childhood and/or early adulthood. The disease occurs most commonly among Black Americans (2) resulting in one out of every 400 blacks inheriting the sickle cell disease and one out of twelve inheriting the sickle cell trait. Sickle cell conditions are also found in persons from Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent (5). Three well-known types of this abnormality are sickle cell anemia (SS), sickle "C" disease, and sickle beta-zero thalassemia. Sickle cell anemia is defined as two sickle cell genes inheriting the sickle cell disease and it affects more than 50,000 Americans. In the "C" type of this disease a child inherits a gene with an abnormal type of hemoglobin called "C". One in every 835 babies born is afflicted with this disease. Sickle beta-zero thalassemia has an estimated ratio of 1 to 1,667 to live through birth (1).
The first published case of Sickle Cell Anemia was reported in 1910 followed by six decades of observation, research, and study of this disease has followed through genetic, molecular, and pathologic testing (5). Large amounts of clinical data have been gathered on the evolution of Sickle Cell Anemia through the birth of stricken children since the 1970's (4). The United States has studied in excess of 3,500 patients with this disease. The results of these studies greatly enhanced the longevity and quality of life for many patients (6). Various studies have proved that Sickle Cell Anemia resulted from mutation of the human gene associated with immunity to malaria, a parasitic blood disease carried and contracted from infected mosquitoes (5). Malaria is mostly found in hot, moist areas in West Africa and the Mediterranean. People originating from these areas developed immunity towards malaria, with unfortunate and unforeseen consequences.
