HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd. (HCG), South Asia’s largest cancer care network, opened the first sickle cell clinic in Karnataka. The facility was communized on the on the eve of world sickle cell day observed  on June 19, 2011.

“This sickle cell clinic is the first in Karnataka. It will offer patient care, education, screening & counselling for afflicted patients & families. This initiative will help in the early detection of the disease & treatment,” stated Dr B S AjaiKumar, chairman, HCG at the inauguration.

According to Dr Intezar Mehdi, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist, HCG, Sickle Cell is the first molecular disease known to the mankind for over a century. Around  50% of the world sickle cell population resides in India and highest prevalence is noted in  Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Approximately 3.2 million population, belongs to these high risk communities. Worldwide incidence is 120 million sickle cell traits and 500,000 sickle cell trait newborns reported annually.

Awareness is the key to this genetic disorder which mandates extensive counselling, premarital screening, antenatal diagnosis, newborn screening. These efforts would help effective management of the sickle cell disease, he added.

In 2008, the United Nations adopted a resolution which determines sickle cell disease as a public health problem and one of the world’s foremost genetic disease, requiring extensive awareness and activism, diagnosis and management. The result of the resolution was that June 19th was declared as World Sickle Cell to increase awareness of the condition all over the world.

According to HCG experts, Sickle cell anaemia can be suspected when the children present with one of the pain crisis, and various other manifestations, anaemia or sometimes or on a routine blood check showing low haemoglobin and sickled RBC's on peripheral blood film or a positive sickling test (solubility test). The diagnosis can be confirmed by Haemoglobin electrophoresis (HPLC).

The most common causes of death with Sickle disease are reported because of infection- Sepsis/Meningitis-especially between 1-3 years of age. There are cases of acute chest syndrome, Stroke, Splenic sequestration, apart from organ failure-including heart, liver and kidney, stated HCG.