More than 80,000 Americans have sickle cell disease and despite decades of research the average life expectancy has dropped from 42 years in 1995 to 39 today. It is a disease that largely targets the African-American community and, to a lesser degree, the Hispanic community. 

In recognition of September 2018 as National Sickle Awareness Month, CIRM hosted a Facebook Live event, “Ask the Stem Cell Team about Sickle Cell Disease“, which discussed the latest progress in the development of stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease. 

The hour-long discussion featured Mark Walters, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist from UCSF’s Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland; Don Kohn, Professor, Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at UCLA; Adrienne Shapiro, a patient advocate for SCD and the co-founder of the Axis Advocacy SCD patient education and support website; and Adonica Shaw, CIRM’s Associate Director of Marketing Communications.