Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is the most severe type of sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder. In sickle cell anemia, you inherit a genetic mutation (change) that causes abnormal C-shaped or sickle-shaped red blood cells. Healthcare providers may call these cells “sickled cells.”

Normal red blood cells are round flexible disks. They slide through your blood vessels, carrying oxygen to your organs and tissues. Sickled cells are stiff and sticky and get stuck in your blood vessels instead of flowing throughout your body. Sickled cells also break apart and die more quickly than normal red blood cells. As a result, sickle cell anemia affects your red blood cell supply, so you develop severe anemia (low red blood cell levels).

Complications of sickle cell anemia can be life-threatening. In the past, babies born with this condition rarely lived to be adults. Now, thanks to early detection and new treatments, more people live into their 50s.

How common is sickle cell anemia?

Experts estimate that sickle cell anemia affects at least 100,000 people in the U.S. It affects more people who are Black than people who are white. Experts estimate that 1 in 365 people who are Black carry the genetic mutation that causes the condition. It may also affect people with southern European, Middle Eastern or Asian Indian ancestry.