Lets make sure Sickle Cell Anemia is a national health priority. Help return research & prevention funding for this disease, and sign the White House petition.

(Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)
(Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)
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Together we can make sure that Sickle Cell Disease is a national health priority.  Sign the White House petition in support of legislative Bill - H.R. 5124, so that funding will be returned to SCD programs in the President's budget.

Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited blood disorder that mostly affects people of African ancestry.  However is also occurs in other ethnic groups, including people who are of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent.

Roughly 100, 000 Americans have sickle cell anemia and about 2 million Americans, including 1 in 12 African Americans, have the trait of the disease.  These people carry a single gene for the disease and can pass it on to their children.

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects the protein found in red blood cells(RBC's) that helps carry oxygen throughout the body.  When a person inherits two abnormal genes (one from each parent), that causes their RBCs to change shape.  Instead of being flexible and disc-shaped like normal cells, the cells are stiff and curved in the shape of a sickle (old farm tool) — which is where the disease gets its name.  The abnormal shaped cells cause people with the disease to have severe pain, trouble breathing and massive bodily complications.

So what is the legislative Bill - H.R. 5124 and what impact will it have on those suffering from the Sickle Cell Anemia disease?  The H.R.5124 Bill - Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance and Prevention Treatment Act, was introduced to Congress this year in July by Representative Danny K. Davis (Democrat).  

The Bill will re-enact the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to states to: (1) collect data on the prevalence and distribution of sickle cell disease, (2) conduct sickle cell disease public health initiatives to improve access to care and health outcomes, and (3) identify and evaluate strategies for prevention and treatment of sickle cell disease complications.and will allow funding for Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance and Prevention.

By signing the White House petition, you are showing your support for this much needed bill and hopefully will be responsible for getting it passed into law. Please sign now and make a difference.

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