Sickle Cell Simply Explained

Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease worldwide. For a person to suffer the disease, he or she has to inherit the faulty gene from each parent. In the past, sufferers of sickle cell anemia survived for a few years only and at present there is no readily available cure. However, with proper management, sufferers can live comfortable lives and for many years. Life-style measures are paramount and are referred to in some detail in the book. When only one sickle cell gene is inherited by a person with normal hemoglobin, the conditions is referred to as the carrier state or the trait. Individuals with the trait have no medical problems under normal conditions of life. This is how the gene has been able to survive and be passed on from generation to generation. Sickle cell disease, which was once thought to be restricted to only a few areas, especially among Black people, is now known to be worldwide and has been described as a world health problem.

John Koramoa MD was born and educated in Ghana and had his postgraduate training in the United Kingdom. He has worked in sickle cell clinics and centers, has lectured to various groups including health vistors, parents, and sickle cell workers, and has seen many patients. His easy approachability has brought him into contact with people from all walks of live, and led him to recognize the need for a book to answer the many different questions that he has been asked. He has also been encouraged to write it by many people interested in sickle cell disease. The book is the result of many years of experience and working in various aspects of sickle cell disease especially in children. It is hoped that it will reach as many people as possible including those in the remotest part of the globe where medical services are lakcing. He is the author of another book Two Hundred Questions that Mothers Ask About Their Babies in the First Year of Life.