SICKLE CELL DISEASE
Sickle cell disease affects nearly 100,000 Americans. More specifically, sickle cell disease occurs in 1 out of every 365 Black American births. Also, 1 in every 13 Black babies are born with sickle cell trait. Approximately 8% of Black Americans are directly affected by sickle cell disease; the percentage is even greater when you factor in families and caregivers. This is a considerably large portion of the population when taken into perspective. One of the main challenges faced by individuals with sickle cell disease is pain. Vaso-occlusive pain crises are the most common complication of the disease, and can be debilitating.
RESOURCES
https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/sickle-cell-center
https://www.stjude.org/disease/sickle-cell-disease.html