For most people, red blood cells are silent workers, carrying oxygen throughout the body without notice. But for people with sickle cell disease, those same cells can turn hard and sickle-shaped, clogging blood vessels, triggering waves of pain, and slowly damaging organs.

Sickle cell disease is inherited, passed through genes from both parents. About one in 13 African Americans is born with the sickle cell trait. In Wisconsin, most patients live in the southeastern corner of the state, and Milwaukee is home to many of them. 

Living with sickle cell means dealing with severe pain, fatigue, shortness of breath and unpredictable flare-ups that can send patients to the hospital for days. For decades, treatments focused only on easing symptoms. Now, new research is offering hope for longer l

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