Why Is Sickle Cell Anemia a Problem?
With sickle cell anemia, many complications can occur throughout the body. These include: • Pain episodes. Pain, ranging from mild to severe, can occur and affect the whole body. This is known as a “sickle cell crisis.” When sickle cells get trapped in blood vessels, blood does not flow properly through the body. Organs and tissues may not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, causing pain. In some cases, pain lasts for a few hours to a few days (acute). In other cases, it lasts a few weeks or longer. It can even be ongoing (chronic). • Damage to spleen. The spleen stores extra blood and helps remove old RBCs from the body. In some children with sickle cell anemia, sickled cells become trapped in the spleen, causing it to rapidly enlarge. This decreases the number of RBCs that can carry oxygen to the rest of the body. In all children with sickle cell, the spleen will eventually stop working properly (auto-infarction). • Infections. Because all children with sickle cell have destruction
