The Politics of Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia

Sickle cell disorder is the name for several related but different inherited disorders associated with the sickling of the red blood cell. Sickle cell disorder alters the shape of the red blood cells from their usual round appearance to something which resembles a sickle, or half moon. The different kinds of disorder are found mainly in people whose families come from Africa, the Caribbean, the eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia. In Britain it is most common in people of African and Caribbean descent (at least 1 in 10-40 have sickle cell trait and 1 in 60-200 have sickle cell disorder). Despite this high incidence, it is still an under researched topic, and a subject about which health professionals and policy makers know very little. After years of neglect, it is now attracting policy interest and there are new moves to improve existing provision.