Treatment Options

Treatment for sickle cell disease is not usually curative, but is used to relieve pain symptoms and help prevent infections, eye damage, and strokes.

Treatment may also be given to treat complications from the disease and may include antibiotics, pain medications, intravenous fluids, and blood transfusions, which help with pain management and reduces the risk of stroke and other complications.

Iron overload (having an excess of iron) is a common issue after repeated blood transfusions. Too much iron can be toxic to the body and lead to organ damage. Sickle cell disease patients often receive treatment for iron overload as well.
 
Bone-marrow transplantation is being researched as an effective cure for some patients. Gene therapy is also being studied.

Diagnosing this disease as early as possible is optimum. 

New Treatment Research

In 2007 two Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center researchers received a $23.7 million grant (awarded to Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute) to support the Northwest Genome Engineering Consortium from the National Institutes of Health that will fund the development of new methods for gene repair thought to be helpful in treating diseases like sickle cell disease. Read more about this grant.

Seattle Children’s, a Seattle Cancer Care Alliance parent organization, treats children with Sickle cell disease. Your child’s doctor and health-care team will recommend a treatment plan for your child based on your child’s age and other aspects of your child’s health.

References

Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/about_scd/

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_Treatments.html