Curing Sickle Cell Anemia With Stem Cells? Yes!

Winchester, VA – Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder which affects 70,000 to 100,000 Americans each year. With this disorder, blood cells clump together as they move through the body, causing pain, organ and tissue damage, and other maladies. The Kansas City Tribune reports that although bone marrow stem cell transplants were recognized as a cure decades ago, they have been rarely taken recourse to because of low access to donor marrow, lack of public awareness about the treatment, and potential risks. The University of Kansas Hospital has achieved its first adult cure of sickle cell anemia using this treatment, curing 23 year old Desiree Ramirez. “I’m doing a lot better now,” she told the Tribune, “and I see better things to come in the future.”