GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY REMINDS MARYLANDERS THAT SEPTEMBER IS SICKLE CELL AWARENESS MONTH

Event to be held at Sojourner-Douglass College Saturday, September 22 ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 21, 2012) – Governor Martin O’Malley is reminding Marylanders that September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) is educating employees and health care providers, and participating in community events to educate the public about the disease that affects more than 3,000 Marylanders. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that causes red blood cells to lose their shape, leading to many complications, including bouts of pain caused by poor blood flow, infections, stroke, lung disease and kidney disease. SCD affects mostly African Americans but also Hispanics and those of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean descent. DHMH is celebrating National Sickle Cell Awareness Month at an awareness and education event tomorrow, Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. on the Baltimore Campus of Sojourner-Douglass College, 200 N. Central Avenue. The event will feature the national poster child and local spokesperson for Faces of Our Children, as well as local advocates and health care providers. In 1983, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution designating September as National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. For more information about Sickle Cell, resources, and a listing of community events this month, please visit the Office for Genetics and People with Special Health Care Needs web site here. The Governor’s proclamation can be found here.