Hemoglobin and Hemoglobin S

          The cause of Sickle Cells Anemia is an abnormal type of hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S. Hemoglobin is a protein inside of red blood cells that carries oxygen. SSA changes the structure of the red blood cells, particularly when exposed to low oxygen levels. The disfigured red blood cells are then shaped to look like sickles, and are sticky, stiff and more delicate. The effect of having the blood cells out of shape causes the red blood cells to deliver less oxygen to the body’s tissues, and they then have a tendency to clump together. The red sickle blood cells clog more easily in smaller blood vessels, and snap into pieces that interfere with normal blood flow. The red blood cells that contain Hemoglobin S switch back and forth from being normally shaped and sickle shaped, until the cells eventually become sickle shaped permanently. A normal red blood cell can survive until about four months in the bloodstream, unlike the delicate sickle shaped cells that can break down after only 10 to 20 days which can cause anemia. Anemia is when the body’s number of red blood cells or quantity of hemoglobin drops to be less than normal. People who are diagnosed to be anemic have the symptoms of weakness and they tire more easily than those with normal hemoglobin levels.