
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move freely through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. For someone with SCD, the red blood cells are C-shaped or “sickle” and become hard, sticky, and do not flow through blood vessels easily. These ‘sickled’ cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, as they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and block the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.