Where did sickle cell come from? Sickle cell disease is said to have originated in West Africa.
Sickle Cell Anemia is a very serious disease. It is a genetic disorder, which is inherited, and is the result of mutated hemoglobin. When a person has sickle cell anemia, their red blood cell count is lower than that of a normal person with a healthy amount of red blood cells. When a person does not have enough healthy red blood cells in their body, they are not receiving the adequate of amount of oxygen needed for the body.
The shape of red blood cells play’s an important role in weather someone has sickle cell anemia or not. Red blood cells are usually round in shape and smooth. When a person …show more content…
The gene that is mutated is the gene that tells your body to make hemoglobin. The red blood cells cannot carry the proper oxygen needed for the body without hemoglobin. So what is the cause of Sickle Cell Anemia? Sickle cell is something that is inherited. It is something that can be passed down from generation to generation. If a mother is giving birth to a child and the mother has the sickle cell gene, but he father of that child also has the sickle cell gene and they both pass that gene on to the child, then that child’s chance of having sickle cell anemia is higher than if just one parent was carrying the gene. In the chance that only one parent has the gene then that child will also inherit the sickle cell trait, but not sickle cell anemia. Although two parents with the sickle cell trait can indeed have a child that has sickle cell anemia the chance of them having a child with sickle cell is twenty-five percent, which is lower than the fifty percent chance that the child will just be a carrier of the trait. Surprisingly even when both parents have the sickle cell trait there is a twenty-five percent chance that the child will not be affected in anyway. The most common countries we see people affected by sickle cell anemia is Africa, Mediterranean countries, Saudi Arabia, Caribbean Islands, and African Americans in the United