WASHINGTON – The Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease will hold its annual World Sickle Cell Day Symposium on Friday, June 16. The online symposium will feature a discussion with Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, who lives with the disease, and Harold Fisher of WHUR-FM 96.3.

The symposium begins at 3 p.m. The event will also feature door prizes and surprise guests. 

World Sickle Cell Awareness Day is observed annually  to increase public knowledge and  understanding of sickle cell disease and the challenges experienced by sickle cell patients, their families and caregivers. Around the world, about 4.4 million people have sickle cell disease and 43 million have the sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell disease is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a patient’s parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. The disease begins around the age of five to six months and several health problems may develop such as chronic pain, anemia, swelling in the hands and feet, bacterial infections and stroke.

“Each year World Sickle Cell Awareness Day is a call to action to raise awareness and educate the community about the national drive to cure the disease.  We want to let our patients know there is hope on the horizon,” said James G. Taylor, MD, director of the Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease. “All of us in the Howard University community are razor-focused on the topic and intimately involved in sickle-cell work.”

Howard University’s Center for Sickle Cell Disease was founded in 1972 by the late Roland B. Scott, M.D. and has a distinguished history of leading clinical investigation in sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood system disorder prevalent in African Americans and many other people of African descent throughout the world.

The District of Columbia and Howard University have formed a partnership to improve access to healthcare for people living with sickle cell disease. The Sickle Cell Disease Center of Excellence builds upon the Center for Sickle Cell Disease’s infrastructure and expertise to develop new treatment facilities, train non-clinical staff, and expand access to innovative disease modifying therapies.

The Center for Sickle Cell Disease, the Howard University College of Medicine, and Howard University Hospital collectively serve as a major international hub for medical care, research, and other resources for people with sickle cell disease.  Along with its history of treating a high volume of patients, the Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease has participated in every major clinical trial that has led to FDA-approved medications for sickle cell disease.

For more information about the online symposium, contact Benjamin Buchholz, program manager, Sickle Cell Disease Center of Excellence, via Benjamin.Buchholz@howard.edu.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American PhD. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.