Sickle cell warning
Nearly 20,000 Jamaicans are living with sickle cell disease and suffering its debilitating effects, making it the most common genetic disorder affecting Jamaicans from all walks of life. About one in 10 Jamaicans carries the sickle cell trait. The disease can cause acute pain crises in individuals who inherit the recessive gene from both parents. It causes red blood cells to assume a crescent shape, like a banana, and clog small blood vessels.