June 19: World Sickle Cell Disease Day - The Importance of Prenatal Control and Stigma
June 19: World Sickle Cell Disease Day - The Importance of Prenatal Control and Stigma
Since 1970, there has been a significant reduction in the number of patients with Sickle Cell in our country, but the issue of proper prevention and eradication of the stigma that often accompanies patients remains the issue.
June 19th is designated as the World Day of Sickle Cell Disease by the United Nations. It is a rare disease with a very serious impact on survival but also on the quality of life of the patients, and it is estimated that about 103,000 people are affected by it (Eurostat data 2016).
Worm disease, i.e. homozygous sickle cell and micro-deficiency anemia (combination with Mediterranean anemia), is hereditary hemoglobinopathy and can be diagnosed by specific haematological examination (hemoglobin electrophoresis) or molecular analysis. It is a chronic disease with severe irreversible damage to the health of the sufferers.
The disease was named after the sickle-like morphology of red blood cells. These pathological cells that live less time than normal, lack plasticity, resulting in blockages in the blood vessels and not properly oxygenating the tissues. The disease causes some of the following pathological conditions or a combination of these: chronic acute hemolytic anemia, chronic or acute pain, bone marrow prosthesis, acute thoracic syndrome, splenic enteritis, cardiac, hepatic, renal damage, cerebrovascular accident, disaster - bone and joint enlargement.
Recording and Management of Sickle Cell Disease in Greece
In the 1970s a program to prevent hemoglobinopathies started in Greece and Mediterranean Anemia and Sickle Cell Disease Units were set up in major hospitals in the country, which currently reach 38 nationally. Since then, the number of patients with Sickle Cell Disease has been reduced and today it is estimated that 1,000-1,500 people live in Greece.
In the context of prevention, prenatal control is important. If both parents are carriers of the pathological gene, then there is a 25% probability of having a child with AD. In this case, prospective parents should go to a suitable medical center to deal with the possibility of having a child with the disease.
Finally, the topic of social stigmatization remains topical, as many sufferers still hide the disease from their social background because of the social exclusion they may have suffered when it was revealed. Usually, feelings of guilt, fear and low self-esteem characterize those sufferers who avoid regular medical follow-up with whatever burden this can bring to their health.
The Pan-Hellenic Association for the Protection of Patients from Sickle Cell and Minor Disease Anemia, which was founded in 2005, has as its main actions prevention, public awareness, organization of conferences, strengthening independent living and improving the quality of life of the sufferers.
Source: iatropedia.gr
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