Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder that causes lifelong suffering – here’s what you need to know

3D illustration of sickle cell red blood cells Meletios Verras/Shutterstock

Right now, approximately 20 billion red blood cells are busy travelling through your blood vessels. They are delivering oxygen to all the different tissues in your body and removing carbon dioxide to be breathed out of your lungs.

Red blood cells are discs curved inwards on both sides, without a cell nucleus. They are full of haemoglobin, a protein responsible for gas exchanges. At the core of a haemoglobin molecule is an iron carrying component called haem, which can be loaded with oxygen.