Essay Sample on Sickle Cell Disease and Stem Cell Treatments
Sickle Cell Disease is a rare genetic blood disorder found in people of all ages. Over 90,000 US citizens have been diagnosed and currently suffer from the disease. Sickle cell disease infects red blood cells and causes them to become crescent, or sickle shaped rather than their normal circular shape. The cells also become stiff and sticky, causing major issues in blood flow. The condition can block blood flow; which leads to severe organ damage; pain and sometimes stroke.
As stated above, Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disorder. The disorder causes red blood cells to produce deformed hemoglobins. Hemoglobins are the proteins that help carry oxygen throughout the body. When a person has Sickle Cell Disease creates new blood cells inside their bone marrow, the genetic code tells the body that it needs to produce deformed hemoglobins due to a flaw in the genetic code. This causes the cell to become turgid and sickle shaped, causing major dangers in the bloodstream, especially for clots. This causes other organelles to become deformed from the modified hemoglobins. Currently, there is no definite cure for Sickle Cell Disease. The main and most common treatment right now is Hydroxyurea, a drug commonly used for cancer treatment. It is also common for children to receive prophylactic penicillin, from birth to at least 5 years of age. Other than various antibiotics and screenings, there are very few treatments for Sickle Cell Disease. Some people have attempted blood transfusion therapy, but it is extremely costly. Opioids are also prescribed to adults for treatment in pain. It is important to have treatments for things like blood clots with the carrier as well, because Sickle Cell Disease can lead to dangerous things in the blood flow, such as clots, and organ damage.
Stem Cell Therapy is still new in Sickle Cell Treatment. The process of treating Sickle Cell Disease with stem cell therapy begins in the bone marrow. The current parts of the bone marrow that are creating sickle cells are rooted deep inside, so chemotherapy is necessary to be able to perform the operation safely. The goal for the bone marrow is to produce the red blood cells and nurture them to be fully functional so they can carry oxygen throughout the body, but sickle cell disease prevents that. In order to replace the flawed bone marrow, they must be removed from the inside of the person and replaced with stem cells capable of replacing the flawed bone marrow from a healthy donor, preferably a sibling. It is likely a mix of the donor bone marrow and the original will still remain, but it was recently discovered that the disease will still reverse even with the mixed bone marrow cells inside the bone of a carrier. The treatment has an estimated 86% success rate in people ages 16 to 65. It is likely that the treated patient will need to take immunosuppressants for a period of time ranging from just a few short months, all the way to several years.
Right now stem cell treatments are only used in rare cases, and only in children, as the treatment was seen as too dangerous for adults. A large amount of chemotherapy was used to entirely destroy the child's bone marrow before being replaced by donor stem cells. However, there are some studies that hope to make the surgery safe for adults. The only real ethical concerns about this treatment are the dangers from the surgery and the heavy medications required after the treatment. It's likely you will spend 1 to 2 months in the hospital after a stem cell transplant. It is also extremely difficult to find someone with the proper stem cells to donate, and they must be willing.
I believe that right now it may be better to remain only using this treatment in adults, as the effects could end up being worse than the original disease if used improperly. I hope that within the next 5 years we can complete whatever research to make the treatment safe for adults, and wipe out the disease entirely. It would be better if we could find a better solution than the stem cell treatment or a better way to perform it without chemotherapy.
"Stem Cell Transplant Reverses Sickle Cell Disease In Adults". National Institutes Of Health (NIH), 2021, https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/stem-cell-transplant-reverses-sickle-cell-disease-adults.
