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Sickle cell anemia is an autosomal recessive disorder in which abnormal hemoglobin leads to chronic hemolytic anemia with a variety of clinical consequences. The disorder is a classic example of disease caused by a point mutation in DNA. When in the deoxy form, hemoglobin S forms polymers that damage the red blood cell membrane. Both polymer formation and early membrane damage are reversible. However, red blood cells that have undergone repeated sickling are damaged beyond …

…activate a cancer gene or inactivate an essential or cancer-suppressing gene. Because of these unknowns, it will be some time before gene therapy is used to treat sickle cell disease. Bibliography Bibliography Beshore, George, Sickle Cell Anemia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Bloom, PhD Miriam,Understanding Sickle Cell Disease. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1995. Tierney, Jr.,Lawrence MD, Stephen J McPhee, MD, and Maxine A Papadakis, MD, Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall 435-437