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WASHINGTON,
D.C. –
The
U.S.
Senate
has
unanimously
passed
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott’s
resolution
designating
September
Sickle
Cell
Disease
Awareness
Month.
He
was
joined
in
this
effort
to
help
educate
communities
across
the
country
regarding
sickle
cell
disease
by
Senators
Cory
Booker
(D-NJ),
Johnny
Isakson
(R-GA),
Sherrod
Brown
(D-OH),
Marco
Rubio
(R-FL),
Chris
Coons
(D-DE)
and
Elizabeth
Warren
(D-MA).
“My
hope
is
that
by
highlighting
the
severity
of
this
disease
we
can
get
more
people
focused
on
finding
more
widely
available
cures,”
said
Scott.
“The
numbers
are
heartbreaking.
This
disease
affects
so
many
across
the
nation,
and
I
hope
our
efforts
will
help
to
bring
Sickle
Cell
awareness
to
the
forefront
of
medical
research
so
that
we
will
continue
to
see
more
developments
in
the
near
future.
I’m
proud
to
lead
the
effort
to
raise
awareness
of
Sickle
Cell
Disease,
and
to
help
the
amazing
children,
adults
and
their
families
fighting
this
disease.
I
am
thrilled
the
Senate
came
together
to
unanimously
pass
this
important
resolution."
Sickle
Cell
Disease,
an
inherited
disease
disorder
that
causes
major
health
problems,
directly
affects
100,000
people
nationwide.
One
in
13
African
Americans
are
carriers
of
the
Sickle
Cell
trait,
and
a
child
whose
parents
are
both
carriers
has
a
25
percent
chance
of
being
diagnosed
with
Sickle
Cell. Individuals
diagnosed
with
Sickle
Cell
Disease
may
experience
serious
medical
complications
ranging
from
anemia,
restricted
blood
flow,
strokes
and
even
death.
While
hematopoietic
stem
cell
transplantation
is
currently
the
only
known
cure
and
advancements
have
been
made
in
treating
complications,
more
can
be
done
to
help
patients
and
their
families.
Senator
Scott
hopes
this
resolution
will
continue
to
amplify
the
seriousness
of
Sickle
Cell
Disease
while
pushing
for
people
across
the
country
to
highlight
the
urgency
of
finding
a
widely
accessible
cure,
identifying
early
detection
methods,
and
ensuring
living
with
the
disease
are
aware
of
available
resources.
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