Today is World Sickle Cell Day, a day to promote awareness about sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited, chronic blood disorder which can cause severe pain, stroke, organ failure, and other complications, including death. Sadly, it’s estimated that this year 300,000 babies around the world will be born with SCD.
To recognize World Sickle Cell Day, we’re sharing a one-minute clip from a video interview we filmed last week with Adrienne Shapiro, a tireless advocate for sickle cell patients and the development of stem cell-based cures.
Shapiro, the fifth generation of mothers in her family to have a child born with SCD, is co-founder of Axis Advocacy, a Southern California organization whose mission is to improve the lives of patients and caregivers who are dealing with this chronic illness.
In the video, Shapiro says that just the promise of stem cell-based therapies for SCD, “relieves that pain and suffering and guilt of having passed this (inherited disorder) along as well as knowing that I can really be the last mother, the last generation to fight for my child’s life.”
Speaking of stem cell therapies, CIRM is currently funding two clinical trials related to SCD. A UCLA team is testing a stem cell and gene therapy product from the patient’s own blood to correct the mutation that causes the production of abnormal, sickle-like shaped red blood cells. And City of Hope scientists are testing a novel blood stem cell transplant procedure that uses a milder, less toxic chemotherapy treatment that allows donor stem cells to engraft and create a healthy supply of non-diseased blood cells without causing an immune reaction in the patient.
While Shapiro’s Axis Advocacy and CIRM provide critical support here in California, other organizations like the American Society of Hematology and the Sickle Cell Disease Coalition have their efforts set on the developing world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 50–90 percent of infants born with SCD will die before their fifth birthday.
To do something about this heartbreaking statistic, these organization are debuting a public service announcement and short documentary – watch the video playlist below – to help improve newborn screening and early care for children in Africa living with sickle cell disease.
As Shapiro explained to us during her interview, it’s important to provide the support and education needed to manage the disease so that when the cure comes, the patients will be alive to receive it.