Sickle Cell Anemia

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

but it is also detected among ethnic groups from the Mediterranean, Caribbean, India, and Central and South America (Burns, Dunn, Brady, Starr, & Blosser, 2013). The presence of two defective genes (SS) are needed for sickle cell anemia. If each parent carries one sickle cell hemoglobin gene (S) and one normal gene (A), each child has a twenty-five percent chance of inheriting two defective genes and developing sickle cell, a twenty-five percent chance of inheriting two normal genes, and a fifty percent chance of being an unaffected carrier like the parents. In the United States, sickle cell is diagnosed in 1:400 African American infants making it one the most common diseases in children (Burns et al.., 2013). There are two variations of the sickle cell gene, sickle cell trait and sickle cell anemia. In sickle cell trait the individual is carrying the sickle cell gene, but also have some normal hemoglobin. These individuals are usually without symptoms. However, under ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

from several hours to several weeks. This is known as a sickle cell crisis and hospitalization is required to treat the individual with intravenous fluids and pain medications. Eye problems due to the retina deteriorating from lack of nourishment, jaundice due to the rapid breakdown of red blood cells, and delayed growth and puberty in children can also be seen (Nitin, 2010).
Complications from sickle cell anemia are rapid. The individuals are more prone to infections and have a harder time fighter them off due to the spleen damage and the bone marrow getting enlarged because of the need to produce red blood cells. Infants and young children are especially susceptible to bacterial ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: