ICMR documenting history of sickle cell disease

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is documenting history of sickle cell disease, a common hereditary disorder of blood, present in many tribes of India, in order to develop a better understanding of the disease.
Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen throughout the body. It causes red blood cells to form into a crescent shape, like a sickle, which clump together and stick to the walls of blood vessels, blocking blood flow. In it cells break apart easily, causing anemia.
A team of ICMR doctors have collected samples of blood from newborn children from mostly tribal population here with the help of NGO Seva Rural, and a total 104 such blood samples have been collected to include them in the study, Dr Yazdi Italia, chairman, Indian Society of Blood Transfusion & Immunohaematology (ISBTI) - West Zone, who is a part of the study, told PTI.

Some of these blood samples have been taken from newborn children from Jagadia in Madhya Pradesh to include them in the study, Italia said.
"All these children were diagnosed with sickle cell disease at the time of their birth through the hill prick blood samples taken on filter paper. These dry blood samples are processed at Valsad by HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography) technique," Italia said.
Modern techniques are being used to sample the blood, and sickle disease families of the newborn in the area are being provided with mobile phones by ICMR to monitor their case better, he said.

Doctors from National Institute of Immunohaematology (NIIH) are also assisting the study.

"Although sickle cell disease is the oldest abnormality known in medical history, natural history of the disease has never been documented before.
"So far, 8,517 dry blood samples of newborn babies were investigated of which 1,341 were found to be with sickle traits, and 104 were of sickle disease. All 104 sickle disease children were included in this project during the last three years," he said. A majority of patients are from poor background, he said.
The damaged sickle red blood cells also clump together and stick to the walls of blood vessels, blocking blood flow. This can cause severe pain and permanent damage to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, bones, and spleen.