Sickle cell disease results in red blood cells breaking apart and blocking blood flow, which triggers inflammation and immune responses. The disease is caused by mutations in the HBB gene, which encodes hemoglobin subunit β, this leads to the red blood cells adopting an abnormal sickle-like shape under certain circumstances; with this shape, they are unable to deform as they pass through capillaries, causing blockages.
Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is the only established curative treatment for sickle cell anemia. It replaces the faulty bone marrow producing sickle cells with healthy bone marrow from a donor.
This is done with a procedure that uses Healthy stem cells from the donor are infused into the patient’s bloodstream through an IV, similar to a blood transfusion. The new stem cells migrate to the bone marrow and start producing normal red blood cells. (Rees & Williams, 2010).
Only 14% of patients find a perfect match. this should be increased in order to allow for more people to be cured of their disease and to also allow for suffering to end. one way to do this is to collect umbilical cord tissue due to how rich in nutrients they are. Public cord blood banks offer an alternative source of stem cells (Wilmot 2024). Umbilical cord blood, collected at birth, is highly versatile and can be used in cases where fully matched donors are unavailable which can be beneficial for people with this disease because they don't require a perfect HLA match.
Although stem cell research is controversial, I believe it should be furthered because it holds the potential to revolutionize medicine by offering solutions to numerous unmet medical needs and advancing scientific understanding of human development and disease. Instead of finding perfect matches we should be using the stem cells research we have to try and create these perfect matches to limit the hardships of finding perfect donors.
Rees, D. C., Williams, T. N., & Gladwin, M. T. (2010). Sickle-cell disease. Lancet (London, England), 376(9757), 2018–2031. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61029-X
Wilmot Cancer Institute. (n.d.). Blood and marrow transplantation program. University of Rochester Medical Center. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/cancer-institute/services/blood-marrow-transplant/transplants.aspx
WebMD Editorial Contributors. (2023, July 5). What are the symptoms of sickle cell disease? Medically reviewed by Carmelita Swiner, MD. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com
I love your post. I think our recent blogs kind of correspond with one another stem cell wise so I love that you included that. Stem cells are really one of coolest technology developments we have found this far in revolutionizing healthcare. Can menstrual blood stem cells be used for this? You suggest umbilical cords but when I was reading up on stem cells from both sources I was getting that for obvious reasons we have a greater access and abundance of menstrual stem cells then we do to umbilical cord stem cells. I am excited to see the advancements of stem cell technology in the next few years, and with that, I am hoping to see human growth alongside its development so that it can be better implemented.
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