Did you know that June 19 is Sickle Cell Awareness Day? If not, you’re not alone. While many know the date as Juneteenth, sickle cell disease has long suffered from inadequate attention, leaving its patients underserved. Charlottesville restaurants are helping by raising awareness and offering free food and drink for you to join them. Read on to learn how.
Sickle cell disease is a serious, inherited blood disorder in which misshapen red blood cells block blood flow through small blood vessels, causing organ and tissue damage. For the 100,000 Americans afflicted by it, the results can be extreme fatigue, pain, anemia, jaundice, and a life expectancy shortened by 20-30 years. There is no universal cure. Despite its prevalence and severity, the disease remains largely unknown to the general public.
Why? Part of the reason may be that almost all sickle cell disease patients are Black. One in every 365 Black Americans has the disease, while 1 in 13 carries the sickle cell trait, putting their children at risk. With the disease’s impact affecting a small and historically disadvantaged population, it receives far less recognition and funding than diseases that afflict far fewer patients…