Here’s what to know about Sickle Cell Disease in kids – Loma Linda University Health

With September being Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month, Loma Linda University Childrens Health wants to help educate the community about SCD one of the most common yet overlooked genetic disorders in the world.

Each year, approximately 1,000 babies in the U.S. and 500,000 worldwide are born with the disease, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

Akshat Jain, MD, MPH, a global sickle cell disease expert at Childrens Hospital, is passionate about establishing awareness and proper care for children suffering from SCD and Sickle Cell Trait, especially the diverse patient population in San Bernardino County.

There are many barriers to receiving care for those with SCD in our community, Jain says. One barrier specifically is lack of awareness surrounding the disease coupled with lack of awareness surrounding the treatment options available at Childrens Hospital.

In sickle cell disease, a persons red blood cells have an irregular cell shape, Jain says. Instead of round discs, theyre in a crescent or sickle shape.

Due to their shape, texture and inflexibility, the cells become clumped together. This grouping causes a blockage in a childs blood vessels, hindering blood-flow. This blockage may cause varying levels of pain and potentially organ damage long-term.

Jain says some of the signs and symptoms of SCD include:

Jain says that many children with SCD develop symptoms in their first year of life. SCD is commonly diagnosed during newborn screening tests, which check for the abnormal hemoglobin found in SCD. Additionally, if both parents of a child are known carriers of a SCD trait, their child will have a 25% chance of having the disease, Jain says.

Some of the emergent issues needing immediate medical care in kids with SCD disease include:

Treatments for SCD include pain medicines for pain management, adequate hydration, blood transfusions, vaccines and antibiotics, and some medicines. Currently, stem cell transplant from bone marrow is the recognized cure for SCD.

Childrens Hospital, with Jain working as a lead on the team, performed the institutions first stem cell transplant in 2019, curing a then 11-year-old girl who had suffered from SCD since birth. Since then, the team has successfully performed the transplant on several pediatric patients.

Patients with SCD at Childrens Hospital are placed into a treatment and care program where Jain and his team offer non-traditional services such as individualized patient treatment plans and direct access to the care team in case of an emergent event. Additionally, the program is working toward offering curative gene therapy for both sickle cell and hemophilia patients.

The bottom line is children and families suffering from this disease need to know that theyre not alone, Jain says. Here at Childrens Hospital, we are here to manage and fight this disease alongside of you.

Learn more about our treatments for sickle cell disease at our Specialty Team Centers.

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Here's what to know about Sickle Cell Disease in kids - Loma Linda University Health