SCD was first recognized in a dental student from Grenada’s island in the West Indies. 1 As shown in the figure below, SCD is a genetic condition when abnormal genes are inherited from both parents . 2 Figure 1: Inheritance of SCD traits.3 AS: Trait (Carrier); AA: Usual (no sickle cell); SS: Unusual (Sickle cell); Source: Sickle Cell Society. People with SCD have “sickle” shaped red blood cells that stick together and block blood and oxygen supply to all parts of the body, leading to health problems such as pain, anemia, infections, and stroke.
3 There are six types of sickle cell diseases, as shown in Figure 2. The most common is sickle cell anemia (SCA), resulting from an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein (hemoglobin) found in the red blood cells. India is estimated to have the second highest burden of this disease. 4 India was ranked the second-worst affected…
