Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder characterized by defective hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the tissues of the body).

About Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease involves the red blood cells, or hemoglobin, and their ability to carry oxygen. Normal hemoglobin cells are smooth, round, and flexible, like the letter "O," so they can move through the vessels in our bodies easily. Sickle cell hemoglobin cells are stiff and sticky, and form into the shape of a sickle, or the letter "C," when they lose their oxygen. These sickle cells tend to cluster together, and cannot easily move through the blood vessels. The cluster causes a blockage and stops the movement of healthy, normal oxygen-carrying blood. This blockage is what causes the painful and damaging complications of sickle cell disease.

Sickle cells only live for about 10 to 20 days, while normal hemoglobin can live up to 120 days. Also, sickle cells risk being destroyed by the spleen because of their shape and stiffness. The spleen is an organ that helps filter the blood of infections and sickled cells get stuck in this filter and die. Due to the decreased number of hemoglobin cells circulating in the body, a person with sickle cell disease is chronically anemic. The spleen also suffers damage from the sickled cells blocking healthy oxygen carrying cells. Without a normal functioning spleen, these individuals are more at risk for infections. Infants and young children are at risk for life-threatening infections.

Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of Memphis

The comprehensive sickle cell center’s design is based upon delivering the most advanced clinical treatment, offering on-site research for treatment advances and ultimately a cure, and full psychosocial support for its patients. To deliver this all-inclusive care model, our center will include the following.

• 24-Hour Emergency and Infusion Unit: This unit will provide pain crisis management, transfusion and intravenous infusion support. This area can also be used for clinical studies requiring monitoring.
• Prevention Outpatient Clinic: The outpatient clinic will provide preventive health maintenance specific to sickle cell disease in a primary care setting. This consists of patient education, genetic counseling, social work services, and psychosocial support.

The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of Memphis will provide continuity of care at its best. The center will provide acute care r for those with sickle cell anemia, with the same staff providing both acute and routine health maintenance care to patients older than 16 years of age. This revolutionary care model has been proven effective in the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center in Atlanta, which has been providing 24-hour emergent care and preventive care for over twenty years. This care model in our center will reduce admission rates to the hospital and emergency departments for sickle cell patients, translating to reduced pain and suffering for sickle cell patients in the Mid-South.

For more information on how you can be a part of building the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of Memphis, visit methodisthealth.org/give.