• CLEVELAND, OHIO
  • 1-866-UH4-CARE
  • |
  • Search UH Online
Our Services Pediatric Specialties G - M Hematology/Oncology  Special Programs  Sickle Cell Anemia Center
Print this pageEmail this pageBookmark Page

Related Specialties

Related Links

Sickle Cell Anemia Center

Phone:

(216) 844-3345 
Fax:

(216) 844-5431 
Address: Sickle Cell Anemia Center
11100 Euclid Avenue - Mailstop - RBC6054
Cleveland, Ohio  44106
Sickle Cell Anemia Center

Physician : Brian Berman, MD
Program Manager : Helen Gutin, RN, CNP
Nurse-Coordinator : Mary DeBarr, RN, BSN
Nurse-Coordinator : Anne Chapman, RN, BSN
Social Worker : Amy Fink, LISW

Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited disease caused by the presence of abnormal hemoglobin in red blood cells. It is a chronic blood disorder characterized by anemia, severe pain, and potentially life threatening complications such as bacterial sepsis (blood poisoning) and chronic organ damage. This results from red cells blocking oxygen flow to blood vessels causing tissue injury. In the United States, the majority of people suffering from the disease are African Americans, with approximately 1 in 400 newborns affected by the disease and another 10 % being carriers of the disease. It is more prevalent than any other condition identified by newborn screening. 

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder that mostly affects people of African ancestry, but also occurs in other ethnic groups, including people who are of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent.

More than 70,000 Americans have sickle cell anemia. And about 2 million Americans — 1 in 12 African Americans — have sickle cell trait, which means they carry a single gene for the disease, but do not have the disease itself.






A number of new therapies are being developed to reduce the severity and painful manifestations of sickle cell anemia. Our comprehensive center at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital strives to provide preventative measures in combination with family education to greatly diminish both the complication rate and the number of hospital admissions required to treat youngsters with this chronic illness. Please check out our links to the left of this section to learn more about sickle cell anemia.

Established in September 1989, the Sickle Cell Anemia Center at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital provides specialty care to more than 350 northeastern Ohio children in cooperation with area pediatricians and family physicians. The Center is the largest hemoglobinopathy program in Ohio. In addition to clinical care, the Center is involved in many professional and education programs and participates in several innovative national and regional clinical research projects.