HR0299 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0299 LRB094 11964 CSA 44811 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary 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; and

WHEREAS, More than 70,000 Americans have sickle cell anemia, and about 2 million Americans - and one in 12 African-Americans - have sickle cell trait; and

WHEREAS, Sickle cell anemia is not contagious, so it can't be caught from someone else or passed to another person like a cold or other infection; people with sickle cell anemia have inherited two sickle cell genes, one from each parent; a child who has inherited the sickle cell gene from only one parent will not develop the disease, but will have sickle cell trait; people who have sickle cell trait don't have sickle cell anemia or symptoms of the disease, but they can pass the sickle cell gene to their own children; and

WHEREAS, Because people with sickle cell trait don't have the disease, they may never discover that they carry the gene; teens who are unsure of their sickle cell status should ask their doctors about testing; The National Institutes of Health recommends that all newborns be screened for sickle cell disease, and testing at birth is now required in almost every state; this helps infants with sickle cell anemia get the care and treatment they need right away; and

WHEREAS, Normal red blood cells are smooth and round like doughnuts and they move easily through blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body; in sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells change shape; they become hard, sticky, and shaped like sickles or crescents and, instead of moving through the bloodstream easily, these sickle cells can clog blood vessels and deprive the body's tissues and organs of the oxygen they need to stay healthy; and

WHEREAS, People with sickle cell anemia have a hard time doing day-to-day activities; their illness is not predictable and causes disruptions at work and school; and

WHEREAS, Symptoms include anemia, pain when sickle-shaped red blood cells block the flow of blood to an organ, fatigue, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), hand-foot syndrome, eye problems, infections, acute chest syndrome (similar to pneumonia), sores (ulcers) on the legs, strokes, and gallstones in the gallbladder; and

WHEREAS, One of every 12 African-Americans have the sickle cell trait versus one of every 413 Caucasians; one in every 500 African-Americans have the sickle cell disease, the highest incidence of any group; although there is still no cure for sickle cell anemia, improved medical procedures, new research, and increased knowledge have made life less stressful, less painful, and more hopeful for persons afflicted with the disease; people can now live 40 to 50 years or even longer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the serious health problem of sickle cell anemia, particularly the problem it poses in the African-American community, and urge all public and private entities to take every available avenue to inform the public of sickle cell anemia and its effects on the citizens of Illinois.