Ask Our Expert - The Lifespan for a Person with Sickle Cell Disease

September 08, 2008

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Ask Dr. Jana The Lifespan for a Person with Sickle Cell Disease

QUESTION


Dear Dr. Jana, I have a friend who is a black male with sickle cell anemia. He is now 27 years old. Doctors have told him that he has lived longer than most people with this disease. At what age do most people with sickle cell anemia die? — DENZLO in RALEIGH, NC

ANSWER	February 28, 2001


Dear Denzlo, Your question is a very common one. Many people still mistakenly believe that anyone with sickle cell anemia is doomed to live a very short life. The truth is that people with sickle cell disease can lead long and productive lives. To answer your question specifically, I will refer you to an article about sickle cell anemia on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Statistically, depending on the type of sickle cell disease, the CDC list the median life span as anywhere from a person's 40s to his 60s. That said, I am told by the program coordinator at the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center in Atlanta that, in their clinics, they currently are following people with sickle cell disease well into their 70s. — by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P.

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