SICKLE CELL ANEMIA: PRE-MARITAL SCREENING, A THREAT TO LOVERS? -NASEEBA SANI BABALE

Nigeria has the largest population of people with sickle cell anaemia in the world with about 150,000 births annually. Statistics show that over 40m (one fourth) of Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene. Despite this large number of people with this disorder, a lot of Nigerians still have a negative image and/or lack of awareness of it. Most lovers in the peak of love are reluctant to undergoing a pre-marital screening and refuse to let go of partners of whom they have a potential of giving birth to sickle cell anaemic children, just because their unadulterated love would not allow it.

Sickle cell disease occurs when a person inherits two abnormal haemoglobin genes, one from each parent. This abnormal haemoglobin is called haemoglobin "S". Inheritance of two haemoglobin S genes makes a person to have the SS combination. Thus the haemoglobin produced is abnormal and the person develops sickle cell anaemia.
Like all other inherited disorders, sickle cell anaemia is not curable! However, this deadly disease can be prevented only through pre-marital screening and counseling. Sickle cell anaemia is a disease that keeps its culprits, mostly children and young adults entangled in life-long episodes of intense pain and discomfort. They are rarely completely healthy, spending most of their days on hospital beds, swallowing medications and having blood transfused through their veins almost all the time. They also suffer a lot of social discrimination, psychological pains including depression. Their parents and loved ones are also involved in this pains. These includes financial challenges. They experience several sleepless nights nursing their sick kids, always running to and fro the hospital and their kids spend most of their times out of school rather than in school with their colleagues.

The normal haemoglobin is haemoglobin A, while two abnormal haemoglobins are most common, haemoglobins S and C. individuals with a combination of A and C or A and S are termed carriers of sickle cell trait. They are usually healthy and rarely present with any complications. Individuals with a combination of A and A have a normal haemoglobin type, while those with S AND C, C and C or S and S have the sickle cell anaemia! Couples that have the AC and AS combination, AC and AS combination or AC and AC combination have a high chance of giving birth to sickle cell kids! Individuals with the SS, CC or SC combination should only get married to an AA as that is the only way they can avoid giving birth to a child with similar condition as their own!

The only solution to preventing incidences of SCA is pre-marital screening. It is obligatory upon all individuals to know their haemoglobin genotype that is for them to know the type of haemoglobin combination they possess and to know the right partner for them.

It`s mandatory on us all to join hands and save the future generation, we must sacrifice whatever love we feel we have for each other as far as we have a potential of giving birth to a child with sickle cell anaemia. Let`s save our future from episodes of pain and hospitalization. Let`s save ourselves the financial and emotional burden associated with nursing a child with sickle cell anaemia. If we let our love leads us to the birth of sick children that suffer their entire lives in pain, those children will never forgive us when they come to know that we had a way of preventing their suffering, but didn`t because our love wouldn`t allow it! Let us all make a sickle cell anaemia free Nigeria possible!
NASIBA SANI BABALE, 2015.

Naseeba Sani Babale is medical laboratory scientist doing her internship with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).