Sickle Cell Disease: Experts Stress Importance Of Early Diagnosis
Experts have reiterated the importance of early diagnosis, saying it can prevent many difficulties and ease treatment, thereby increasing the chance of patient’s survival. To this effect, Lagos State, while marking the World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day penultimate week, announced that testing for sickle cell disease will soon become a compulsory part of the newborn screening programme. Sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait can be diagnosed with a simple blood test and can also be diagnosed before the baby is born. Speaking recently in an interview, Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health in the state, said that the purpose is to diagnose affected babies early in life and thus introduce timely and lifesaving interventions that would manage avoidable suffering and possibly prevent death. The test will utilise blood from the blood samples used for other routine newborn screening tests, Dr. Idris said. It can show whether a newborn infant has sickle cell disease