SICKLE CELL DISEASE

Abstract

Sickle cell anemia is a specific and unique disease of growing importance, in that it is much more common than was previously suspected¹ and is more generally recognized. Adequate surveys² indicate that the sickle cell trait occurs in not lower than 7 per cent of all American Negroes and that the incidence may be considerably higher.^1a The ratio of the symptomless sickle cell trait to the clinical sickle cell disease is not definitely known, but it may be as high as 9: 1³ or even 7: 1.^1c Since the trait is hereditary and is dominant over the normal condition,⁴ it is evident that any one of the 900,000 odd persons with sickling^1c in the United States may transmit the full disease to his or her offspring. The total number of persons with sickle cell disease in this country, all of them doomed to ill health and probably