Breakthrough treatments can now cure sickle cell anemia in the U.S. But the pricey therapies will hardly help in Nigeria, where social changes could do more for millions impacted by the disease.On a sunny day in Southern Nigeria, my uncle and aunt took their children to the hospital. Because their daughter had suffered swollen joints and body pains for months, a doctor advised genetic testing.
More practically and immediately, the lives of many millions could be improved by social changes aimed at reducing stigma and enhancing accommodations for those who bear sickle cell disease.Being Nigerian, my family is not exempt from sickle cell’s impacts. Growing up amid this ailment fueled my curiosity to learn more about it.
growth in red blood cells. In addition, compared to normal red blood cells, sickle cells die earlier and get removed from the bloodstream faster, along with the parasites. Before it was recognized in U.S. and European medicine, sickle cell disease was known in numerous societies in Africa. Children with the sickle cell trait were labeledIn both these cultural traditions, children were believed to have been sent from the spirit world to plague their parents. To ensure the children stayed in the land of the living, parents offered. But the children often died before they turned 5, mostly from harmful concoctions and charms, which were believed to vanquish death.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
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