52 | July 2012 | woman this month Picture this: Thirteen year old Ahmed has handled pain for as long as he can remember. Forbidden from the playground since he was a toddler, the boy was equally stoical when he was forced to drop out of school owing to his fragile health. For all his poise, Ahmed eventually broke down after his father was killed in a road accident. He had rushed out of the house to purchase medicines to address his son’s crisis. And this: At 26, Maryam lives with her step-mother, but not because she isn’t married. Battling sickle cell anaemia since infancy, she tried to start a family and suffered a miscarriage. She was then deserted by her husband in view of her failing health. Maryam has now developed acute heart complications. Friends have to rush her to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) almost every other day as she struggles for breath and battles severe chest pain. In Bahrain: As countries worldwide observe World Sickle Cell day on June 19 for the third year, it’s perhaps time for a reality check on this condition and the scenario in Bahrain. Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is caused by an abnormal kind of haemoglobin, the Haemoglobin S, which turns the normal diskshaped red blood cells (RBCs) into a deformed crescent shape. Following the shape change, RBCs become fragile and deliver less oxygen to the tissues. They can get blocked easily in the blood vessels, interrupting normal blood flow and triggering a severe attack known as “sickle cell crisis”, which involves intense body pain. Over time, sufferers become more susceptible to infections as the damaged cells eventually clog the spleen, followed by the liver. Sufferers commonly die of stroke or multiple organ failure. A Sea of Pain Campaign Sickle cell anaemia is recognised as the most serious of all genetic disorders in the Kingdom. Is Bahrain doing enough to promote understanding and management of this condition?
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