Whiddon COM raises awareness of sickle cell disease

Members of three local groups — the Whiddon College of Medicine’s Wellness Council, the USA Johnson Haynes Jr., M.D. Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Mobile Chapter — took the message of sickle cell awareness to the monthly ArtWalk in downtown Mobile in September.  

Waleed Saoud, president of the

Wellness Council and second-year

medical student

They staffed a booth that featured tricycles, which have been used in TriSickle for Sickle Cell fundraisers.  

Laventrice Ridgeway, Ed.D., associate dean of student affairs at the Whiddon College of Medicine, spoke about the importance of raising awareness of sickle cell disease in the community. 

“It is vital that multiple organizations work together toward the goal of raising SCD awareness. The complex, multi-faceted nature of SCD — which involves medical, social, economic, and systemic challenges — urges a collaborative, all-hands-on-deck approach,” Ridgeway said. “Collaborative approaches to awareness allow a single, strong message to reach a far wider audience, which is essential for high-level advocacy.” 

Sickle cell disease refers to a group of inherited disorders in which a person inherits two abnormal genes, and the body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells that resemble a crescent or sickle. It impacts about 100,000 Americans and an estimated 5,000 Alabama residents.