“Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of conditions that affect the red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are round and flexible. A person with sickle cell disease has red blood cells that are hard, sticky, and crescent-shaped like crescent moons or sickles. People with sickle cell disease often experience intense pain and anemia because of their abnormal red blood cells.

SCD is one of the most common hereditary disorders in the United States, affecting 1 in 1,900 infants. Of the 66,000 infants born in Minnesota annually, about 25 infants are born with SCD and more than 1,000 infants are born with a sickle cell trait (SCT).

Currently, the only known cure for SCD is a blood or marrow transplant (BMT). A blood or marrow transplant is a procedure that takes healthy stem cells from a donor and puts them into someone else”

Department of Health in Minnesota (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/sicklecell/about.html)