This Week in Sickle Cell News September 1st to the 7th

By Sean Marshall

September is sickle cell awareness month and to kick It off a new attention grabbing internet challenge has started. The challenged is now being called the sickle cell bottled water challenge.  KLFY News 10 broke the story first. They explained that Don Vallien, a 39 year old sickle cell sufferer had started a new internet challenge to raise money and awareness of sickle cell anemia. The challenge is similar to the ALS ice bucket challenge only this time it involves drinking a bottle of ice cold water and donating money towards sickle cell research.  

The article went on to say that the challenge is more about raising awareness. Vallien was quoted saying that “he simply wants to let others know they are not alone, and they have a chance to help.” Vallien has already raised over 500 dollars in the first three days of the project and support continues to come in.

If you would like to learn more go to: http://www.klfy.com/story/26442962/sickle-cell-bottle-water-challenge

Or you can find his original challenge video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=err2fu6_30c

Donations can also be made at http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/

This week in Saudi Arabia the MENAFN, the Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Arab News Network reported that sickle cell anemia had killed 470 people a year in just one hospital alone. Apparently the Qatif Central Hospital “registered 443 deaths as of a result of seizures due to sickle cell anemia while 27 succumbed to the disease without experiencing these convulsions.”

If there is a silver lining it’s that patients, families and now the public are now showing concern as what the article described as “outrage over the lack of resources available at Qatif Hospital to handle seizures arising from sickle cell disease.”

In an attempt to stop further tragedy a lecture was recently organized on sickle cell in the city around Qatif Hospital. According to MENAFN Abdul Hadi Al-Habib one of the founding members is still trying to acquire a permit to work under official terms.

If you would like to learn more about the story you can follow the link provided: http://www.menafn.com/1093932614/Saudi---Sickle-cell-anemia-kills-470-at-Qatif-hospital-in-one-year

Daily Digest News published an article this week examining a “rapid, low-cost test for sickle cell anemia,” this story was published on the second of September and has some interesting details. It was explained that Harvard University researchers attempted to address major hurdles in sickle cell management.

The initial reason the research is being done is because according to the research team “there is a lack of rapid, low cost diagnostic tests that can be done reliably in developing countries.” Because of this out of the approximate 300,000 African children born with sickle “only 50 percent of those children under the age of five will live without diagnosis.”  

The test uses a blood sample from a patient and can provide a yes or no answer in roughly 12 minutes. The device would cost 50 cents and as of right now has a high success rate. According to Daily Digest when the tests were conducted “the tests sensitivity was 91 percent, while the tests ability to exclude healthy patient samples was 88 percent.” This is all good news but it was that it is still “a ways off for human use.”  

If you would like to learn more just click on the link: http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/09/rapid-low-cost-test-for-sickle-cell-anemia-will-likely-save-lives-in-the-developing-world/

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