ABSTRACT
Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder which affects the non-white population, often of Afro-Caribbean origin. There are around 5,000 patients at risk in the UK. It is caused by substitution of a single amino acid in a beta chain of haemoglobin S. Such patients are at risk from a syndrome called sickle cell crisis and a severe chronic anaemia caused by the red cells breaking down more easily and blocking small blood vessels. As the disease can also affect the chest, it needs to be mentioned here.
