September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Do You Know your Sickle Status?

While September is Sickle Cell Awareness month, it is still considered the ‘invisible’ disease because SCD generally affects African-Americans. As African-Americans, we sometimes don’t take the time to learn about this deadly disease or advocate about it amongst communities. But the question is, “What is Sickle Cell Disease?”  People may have heard about it from some of their friends with it or family members, but do they REALLY know what this disease is? SCD is an inherited blood disorder that attacks red blood cells. Normal blood cells are round like a ‘donut’ shape, whereas when people living with SCD have red blood cells, the shape of a ‘sickle’ or what I like to call a banana. When these cells get caught in the tiny blood vessels, they can stop the flow of oxygen needed to carry the cells to different parts of the body. When they cause a “traffic jam,” it can cause pain as well to any part of the body which is called a ‘pain crises’

During September, many states and SCD associations in the communities’ advocate and celebrate by holding different events for the public and schools as well and volunteering within the community such as walks and other hands-on activities. If you want to make a difference in the SCD community, DONATE! It doesn’t take that much effort to donate to your local association or to the national association which is located in D.C. While SCD affects African-Americans predominantly, it affects other cultural regions such as the Caribbean, the Western Hemisphere such as South America and Central America, Saudi Arabia, India and Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy. It is important to know your sickle status! 

To donate to the cause, please visit https://www.sicklecelldisease.org/general-donations/. 

Patrice Rivers is a 9x author, freelance writer, journalist, podcaster, and Owner of That Riverz Gurl Brand LLC. Subscribe to her Health podcast called ‘Let’s Talk Cell Talk Podcast with Patrice Rivers” by visiting  www.anchor.fm/letstalkcelltalk Visit her website at www.thatriverzgurlbrandllc.com Follow her health platform on IG @letstalkcelltalk