Did you know that sickle cell disease occurs in one out of 150 Jamaican births?
This is a very high risk of having SCD in comparison to African-Americans, where one out of 375 will have SCD (still a high risk, though).
One out of 150 is the chance, based only off of people diagnosed with this genetic disease. The actual number of people with sickle cell disease (SCD) will continue to increase as more Jamaicans learn about their status. Some people don’t know their status and how it can affect their offspring.
There is not much, if any, official data to support that a couple with the trait will have an offspring with SCD. But if person with SCD and another with the trait have about a 50% chance that their offspring will also have SCD. We do know that a child is more likely to have SCD if both parents have it.
Patient education and prevention are critical because SCD can greatly shorten a person’s lifespan.
Screenings can be done to help enroll newborn babies into clinics for treatment since the threat is greatest within the first four years of a baby’s life. Jamaica remains the first nation to have an extensive intervention that will help decrease the number of SCD deaths before five years old.
You can read more about the intervention in the Jamaica Gleaner here.
