News 19 June 2021
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‘A-Z of Sickle Cell’ children’s book released to help children learn about the disease

19 June 2021
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To commemorate World Sickle Cell Day, a new children’s book has been released which offers a child-friendly A-Z of all things sickle cell-related.

Written by Lenneisha C Ewers, A-Z of Sickle Cell was inspired by the health journey of her 7-year-old son Khari who was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease from birth.

In a post on the book’s website, Lenneisha wrote, “Throughout our journey so far, it has been difficult to find child-friendly text, so that he can learn about his condition in a comprehensive way, that a child can understand.

“This is the reason why I wanted to create this book and moreover continue to help raise awareness and educate children, parents and the wider community about Sickle Cell.”

The book is described as an “informative journey through the alphabet relating to the world of sickle cell. Aiming to teach young readers all about the sickle cell condition at each letter of the alphabet, this book seeks to educate all members of the family about Sickle Cell, whilst raising awareness in the community in a positive way.”

The book teaches children some important facts about the disease in a palatable and digestible fashion thanks to its use of the ABC format. The book can be found here.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by A – Z of Sickle Cell Book (@a_zofsicklecellbook)

Sickle Cell disease is the name given to the group of inherited health conditions that affect red blood cells.

Sickle Cell disproportionately affects people from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds. Around 15,000 people are living with the disease in the UK.

Kye Gbangbola from the Sickle Cell Society recently told ITV News that the quality of care needs to be improved.

He said, ” What we are looking to do is to improve the quality of care which has changed little for sickle cell in 100 years. So we are wanting to share with the public knowledge so that we can improve the quality of care because at present it is very poor.

“We have to improve issues of access to treatments so that can patients can get pain relief and perhaps either other means of adjusting and preventing the illness.”

For more information about Sickle Cell, visit the NHS website or Sickle Cell Society.