Sickle Cell Cure Foundation » Living with SCD

National Sickle Cell Month

broylesr — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:05:36 +0000

The Sickle Cell Cure Foundation, Inc. (SCCF) has made significant progress in recent months, including a U.S. patent issued 14 April 2009, and further laboratory discoveries showing that less DREPAC is needed than previously believed to reverse sickle cell! To keep this progress going, we need your help! It is our goal to have clinical trials underway by this time next year! Please click the donate button and give generously this month – National Sickle Cell Month. SCCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research foundation and all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Alicia and Dominick Bibbs

broylesr — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:44:03 +0000

Alicia & Dominick Bibbs

Alicia Bibbs, an SCCF founder & research student, is pictured with her brother Dominick who suffers from sickle cell disease and recently recovered from surgery to have his spleen and gall bladder removed.

J.R. Perry III and his son Jameel

broylesr — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:39:21 +0000

JR Perry

Jameel on the keyboard

Jameel was born in 1999, and within 2 hours of his birth his father J.R. knew that his son would suffer from sickle cell disease. J.R. has devoted the rest of his life to raising awareness of SCD and the need for a cure. A musician, song-writer, promoter, and talk show host, J.R. Perry has planned a nation-wide music tour for 23 cities to raise money for a cure. J.R.’s effort is called “Cure Every Cell” and forms a perfect complement to the Sickle Cell Cure Foundation’s goals.

Living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

broylesr — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:38:13 +0000

For thousands of Americans, living with sickle cell disease means a lifetime of painful episodes, blood transfusions and frequent trips to the hospital. These treatments can often cause complications that are just as bad or worse than the effects of the disease itself.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited genetic disorder that affects red blood cells. The presence of Hemoglobin S, an abnormal hemoglobin, causes these blood cells to change into the shape of a sickle and makes it difficult for them to pass through small blood vessels. When these vessels become blocked, oxygen has trouble reaching the tissues since hemoglobin is an oxygen carrying molecule.Tissue that does not receive normal blood flow often becomes damaged, including tissue of the lungs, spleen, liver and kidneys.

Living with sickle cell disease is painful and can inhibit a person from living a normal life. Too much activity can cause a pain crisis and stroke. Currently the main treatments for SCD are blood transfusions, which can cause toxic build up of iron, and antibiotics to prevent infections caused or worsened by damage to the spleen, pain management, and surgery. Each of these treatments causes more complications. Even with multi-disciplinary treatments, the average life expectancy for someone who suffers from SCD is only about 40-to-45 years.