There is a need to improve accessibility of Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation (BMSCT) for Sickle Cell Disease patients who are most likely to benefit from this treatment option.

1. Building a culture of trust between and among primary care providers, specialists, patients/families, and other stakeholders

2. Consensus building around BMSCT as an acceptable treatment alternative (as opposed to another research endeavor)... more »

Can new advances in allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) make the procedure a safe and universally available therapeutic strategy for treating non-malignant blood and immune disorders such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, aplastic anemia, and severe combined immune deficiency?

Advances in the care of pediatric patients with sickle cell disease ( SCD) have resulted in improved survival to adulthood.However, adulthood is marked by rapid disease progression, impaired quality of life and premature mortality. Hematopoietic cell transplantation(HCT) from matched sibling donor has curative potential, but has been offered mainly to children. Refinements in the conditioning regimen, supportive care,... more »

There is a critical need for the establishment of strategies that will determine the efficacy, safety, and toxicity of genome editing techniques specifically in hematologic diseases.

Can better predictors of disease severity such as specific biomarkers and/or genetic polymorphisms be identified so as to help understand the course and progression of sickle cell disease in various patients?

How can the safety, dosing and benefits of existing therapies for sickle cell disease such as hydroxyurea, be optimized in order to increase its efficacy and improve patient adherence?

Most of the patients suffering from non-malignant hematologic conditions are cured of the original disease with Hematopoitec Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) but still their survival is less compared to age matched general population, and additionally they suffer from unique complications of HSCT culminating into a variety of late physical, psychologic, financial, and social complications (“late effects”). Considerable improvements... more »

Despite advances in care, patients with sickle cell disease have significant morbidity and mortality. One challenge is the optimal use of simple vs exchange transfusion vs no transfusion when managing these patients. Simple transfusions lead to iron overload while exchange transfusions may expose patients to increase numbers of red blood cell units. The mechanism of benefit from transfusion (oxygen delivery vs marrow... more »

There is a need to investigate hemoglobin biosynthesis in order to develop novel approaches to treat sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and other anemias.

There is a need for more enhanced pain research in order to help improve sickle cell disease patient outcomes and quality of life.

Challenges that need to be overcome in blood transfusion, especially in SCD, include:
a. Adopting molecular genotyping as the standard in blood transfusion therapy.
b. Advancing new generation, anti-oxidant hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) for use in emergencies such as trauma, stroke, acute hemolysis, and in transfusion in SCD and related disorders. In SCD, HBOCs have the capacity to not only serve as substitutes... more »

Newer therapies using gene correction, rather than gene addition, are needed for sickle cell disease. Even with this potential advantage, there needs to be a way to safely deliver gene corrected HSC to the sickle cell patient. Chemotherapy is poorly tolerated, and often is the reason patients do not choose the BMT option. What is the status of other less toxic non myeloablative approaches, and how can they best be... more »

Are current advances in gene editing, new drug therapies and less restrictive BMT criteria being explained and rolled out to the sickle cell community in an effective and timely manner? When can people living with sickle cell disease experience a better quality of life on more permanent based on the treatments we already have?

What are the factors leading to severe health consequences in the sickle cell trait population?

What are the financial and social implications for individuals living with SCD from adolescence transitioning into adult care? What impact does this transition have on the caregiver and family as a whole?