Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight, I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
When you look for a person to marry, what qualities do you look for? Do you want that person to be good looking? Or do you want a person who is intelligent? Or funny?
Voice 2
Would you ever ask that person about their blood? Would you ask if they know what genes their parents passed to them? Della Seneadza is from Ghana. When he thinks about beginning a relationship, these are the first things he wants to know! You see, Della has a blood disorder. It is called Sickle Cell Anemia. And he wants to protect his future children from the disease.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on Sickle Cell Anemia.
Voice 2
Sickle Cell Anemia is a disease that causes great pain. It can also cause breathing problems. And it may turn a person’s skin yellow. In rare cases, it can lead to death.
Voice 1
Sickle Cell Anemia affects a protein in the red blood cells. This protein is called haemoglobin. A person with Sickle Cell Anemia has bad haemoglobin. This causes the red blood cells to change shape. They become thin and curved instead of round. They become hard instead of soft. They become firm instead of bendable. And they become sticky.
Voice 2
Bad haemoglobin also causes red blood cells to die more quickly than healthy red blood cells. A healthy red blood cell will live about four [4] months. But a sick red blood cell will only live ten [10] to twenty [20] days!
Voice 1
The red blood cells carry oxygen. They bring oxygen to every part of the body through the system of veins. These are like long thin tubes. Usually, a red blood cell can flow easily through veins. But Sickle Cell Anemia causes the red blood cells to stick together. Then, they can block small veins. When a vein is blocked, oxygen cannot get to some parts of the body. This causes a person to feel severe pain.
Voice 2
A time of severe pain like this is called a crisis. Sometimes a crisis is brief. But other times it can last hours, days, or even weeks! Sometimes the pain can be treated at home. At other times a person must go to the hospital.
Voice 1
There is very little doctors can do for Sickle Cell Anemia. They cannot make the disease go away. But they can treat the bad effects of the disease. Doctors treat the pain with pain medicines. Visiting the hospital often can also help. Then, doctors can make sure that a person is healthy. Together, medicines and hospital visits can manage the disease.
Voice 2
People with Sickle Cell Anemia also get sick easier than people with healthy red blood cells. And it is more difficult for them to get better. So doctors give people penicillin or other medicines to prevent other sicknesses.
Voice 1
Sadly, there is no cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. Della and most other people with Sickle Cell Anemia learn they have the disease when they are young.
Voice 3
“The first painful [crisis] came when I was seven [7] years old. I was reading...after school and I felt severe pains in my back. It was so bad. I ran to my mother crying.”
Voice 2
Each crisis interferes with a person’s life. If the pain is severe, it can prevent a person from going to work or school. Sufferers cannot do things that require lots of physical energy. Della enjoys playing sports. But he has learned to stop when he feels tired. He has also learned to enjoy other things.
Voice 3
“[Instead of] excelling physically outdoors, I stay in and think creatively. I write music and come up with program ideas. I use my mind [instead of] my body.”
Voice 1
There is no cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. But it can be prevented. You see, Sickle Cell Anemia is a hereditary disease. It is in the genes that parents pass to their children. This disease cannot be passed in any other way.
Voice 2
Della has Sickle Cell Anemia. So he knows that he will pass the gene to his children. But a child must get a Sickle Cell gene from both parents in order to have the disease. This is why Della asks a girl if she has been tested!
Voice 3
“Now that I am older I [understand] the [importance] of people’s blood types. When I enter into a new relationship, she must be completely free from Sickle Cell Anemia. [This is] to prevent the cycle from happening again.”
Voice 1
Not everyone with the Sickle Cell Anemia gene will have the disease. It is possible to be a carrier of the gene. A carrier has the disease from just one of his parents. A carrier will not suffer from the disease. But he could still pass it on to his children. By taking a simple blood test, a person can find out if they carry the gene that causes Sickle Cell Anemia.
Voice 2
For example, Della will pass the Sickle Cell gene to his child. But imagine that his future wife does not carry the gene. Then his child will only be a carrier of Sickle Cell. The child would not have Sickle Cell Anemia.
Voice 1
Now imagine that his future wife is a carrier of the sickle cell gene. She does not have Sickle Cell Anemia. But there is a good chance she will pass on the sickle cell gene. This also means that Della’s child has a very good chance of having Sickle Cell Anemia.
Voice 2
Janet Campbell is the director of the Sickle Cell Society. She agrees that it is important for people to get their blood tested.
Voice 4
“There are seventeen thousand five hundred [17,500] [people] in the United Kingdom with Sickle Cell, but [there is] double that number...of carriers. You can be a silent carrier so getting tested is important. We are encouraging people to be tested so they can look after the health of their own bodies.”
Voice 1
Sickle Cell Anemia affects people all over the world. It is common among people who at some time had relatives in Africa, the Caribbean, or Asia. But it can affect anyone, no matter where they are from!
Voice 2
Mrs. Shasanya did not know she and her husband carried the sickle cell gene. She discovered it when doctors said that her daughter had Sickle Cell Anemia. Now she meets many parents who have more than one child with Sickle Cell Anemia. But she says many people do not get help. They are afraid it will bring shame to their families.
Voice 1
Many people lack knowledge about the disease. Some people even have bad ideas about people with the disease. And often, people do not like to talk about it. This makes it difficult for people to get help.
Voice 2
But it is not possible to catch Sickle Cell Anemia. There is nothing to be afraid of. Della says,
Voice 3
“Most of the time, I see myself as a human being, rather than a sickle cell sufferer.”
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