Essence Magazine:
By Wunmi Bakare ·Updated June 17, 2022
June 19 is World Sickle Cell Day.
At 18 months, I was diagnosed with the most severe type of sickle cell anemia: HbSS. It’s a mutation that occurs when a child inherits two genes of hemoglobin S from each parent. The rigid red blood cells clump together, causing blockages in blood flow that lead to chronic anemia, episodic pain crises, and widespread organ damage.
With the
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