A Comprehensive Guide To Sickle Cell Anemia

What Are The Causes?

Considering we know what sickle cell trait is and how it occurs, how does it develop into sickle cell anemia? To begin, the sickling of the red blood cells are a result of the cells becoming abnormal shapes (such as resembling crescents) and diminished flexibility often promoted by conditions associated with low oxygen levels, increased acidity, or lower blood volumes within the body. These conditions for the sickling of the cells to occur can be the result of an injury to the body’s tissues, dehydration, or anesthesia. Specific organs predisposed to lower oxygen levels or acidity are the liver, kidneys, and spleen, as well as organs with high metabolism rates, such as the brain, muscles, and in the placenta of a female who is pregnant and has the condition. In addition to inheriting the sickle trait, these conditions promote the sickling of the cells as these factors extract more oxygen from the blood, making these vital organs susceptible to injury from sickle cell anemia.

As mentioned earlier, specifically with sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells form a rigid crescent shape that results in damage to red blood cells and often leads to blood clots and organ damage. The main cause of sickle cell anemia is inherited abnormal hemoglobin, which is the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body’s tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs. This abnormal hemoglobin protein is what causes distorted or sickled red blood cells.

Learn about the groups most at-risk of developing sickle cell anemia now.