Blood transfusions can treat some complications of sickle cell disease and prevent others. Adding healthy cells to the bloodstream can reverse some of the damage that sickled cells cause. Severe anemia, extreme pain, and acute chest syndrome are conditions that blood transfusions treat. Transfusions may also help prevent stroke or heart failure, but there is a downside to this practice. Transfusions can cause complications, so doctors weigh benefits and risks before suggesting this procedure.

Other Treatment Choices

Blood transfusions (regular or emergency)

What To Think About

Regular blood transfusions for sickle cell disease can cause iron buildup in the body, which requires daily treatment (iron chelation) and close monitoring.

Bone marrow transplant for children is currently the only procedure that can actually cure sickle cell disease. However, bone marrow transplants are seldom used because few children meet the criteria. Since donors are almost always siblings, lack of matching bone marrow donors is a factor. Cost is also a barrier.

More than 90% of children survive this type of transplant. After 11 years, nearly 85% of those children remain free of sickle cell disease.⁵ The main complication from the transplant is when the body rejects the bone marrow (graft-versus-host disease). This procedure is still considered experimental.

Folic acid supplements are often a necessary part of the diet for people with sickle cell disease, particularly if you aren't eating enough folate-rich leafy vegetables (such as spinach).

Studies continue to test new therapies to decrease cell sickling and improve blood flow.¹³