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Blood Pressure Check

COMPLICATIONS &
TREATMENTS

People with sickle cell disease (SCD) start to have signs of the disease during the first year of life, usually around 5 months of age. Symptoms and complications of SCD are different for each person and can range from mild to severe.

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The reason that infants don’t show symptoms at birth is because baby--or fetal hemoglobin--protects the red blood cells from sickling. When the infant is around 4 to 5 months of age, the baby hemoglobin is slowly replaced by adult hemoglobin and the cells begin to sickle.

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There is no single best treatment for all people with SCD. Treatment options are different for each person depending on the symptoms.

TREATMENTS

Click on each to learn more!

Colorful pills and tablets

Prescription Drugs & Therapies

Prescription therapies, including pills and injections/infusions are available to help treat complications due to sickle cell, but do not cure sickle cell. These include Hydroxyurea, Adakveo, and Endari.

Patient Waiting

Curative Options:
Gene Therapy / Transplants

Two curative gene therapies for sickle cell disease were approved by the FDA in late 2023. They are both approved for individuals 12 years and older. Bone marrow transplant, or stem cell transplant, is also a curative option. Both require a long process + chemo.

Fresh Blood Bag

Blood Exchanges & Transfusions

Blood exchanges and transfusions can help manage complications related to sickle cell by replacing sickled blood cells with healthy, round blood cells. Iron overload is a risk of exchanges and transfusions. This is done in a hospital setting.

Robin’s sickle cell disease story: ‘With the help of blood transfusions, I’m still here’
02:25

Robin’s sickle cell disease story: ‘With the help of blood transfusions, I’m still here’

Robin has lived with sickle cell disease for her entire life and depends on lifesaving blood donations to treat complications from the disease. “Blood transfusions are vital for me,” she said. “Without it, I don’t think I would probably be here today.” In the U.S., it is estimated that over 100,000 people like Robin – the majority of whom are of African descent – have sickle cell disease and may require blood transfusions throughout their lifetime to help manage their disease. One in 3 African American blood donors are a match for people with sickle cell disease. To help ensure patients have the blood products they need, the American Red Cross is working with partners in the Black community through the Sickle Cell Initiative to grow the number of blood donors who are Black. To learn more about the initiative and how you can help, visit http://RedCrossBlood.org/ourblood. Thank you to our supporter, FedEx, for producing this video. #sicklecellwarriors #sicklecellanemia #redcross
Blood Transfusions in Sickle Cell Disease
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Blood Transfusions in Sickle Cell Disease

Important considerations for utilizing red blood cell transfusions in the management of sickle cell disease.
Gene Therapy and Sickle Cell Disease
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Gene Therapy and Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to deform and become sickle (or crescent) shaped. Gene therapy and gene editing may offer a one-time treatment that addresses the genetic cause of sickle cell disease. The subtitling of these videos was funded in part by a donation from Pfizer, Inc.

© 2025 by SCDAI

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