Children’s Hospital Earns National Center of Excellence Ranking for Treating Sickle Cell Disease
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28 Pacific Union Recorder
Loma Linda University Health
PHOTO: ANSEL OLIVER
L
oma Linda University Children’s Hospital's sickle cell treatment program has been awarded network affiliation with a national consortium of centers with a unified mission to improve the care of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). The National Alliance for Sickle Cell Centers identify SCD Centers of Excellence that have the essential components needed to provide full spectrum disease care in their respective geographic regions. The association aims to unify sickle cell centers in their effort to improve access and advance research to cure this painful and deadly disease. The designation follows earlier recognition from the California state senate for the hospital’s establishment of the comprehensive sickle cell treatment center, which was launched in 2017. Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital now treats some 300 patients with the condition each year, and doctors have used stem cell therapy to cure more than a dozen sickle cell patients of the genetic disease. Akshat Jain, MD, MPH, director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Center at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, called the national ranking a significant step in helping more people understand the resources the Inland Empire has for treating sickle cell patients. “I am honored to be part of helping create a paradigm shift in providing the attention and respect that this group of society and patients deserve,” Jain said. “We are able to keep our patients out of hospitals and in schools—and they can have a shot at a normal life.” Children’s Hospital’s sickle cell treatment program serves much of Southeastern California, southern Nevada, and most of Arizona. Many patients further away have moved near Loma Linda to establish regular care, Jain said.
Dr. Jain holds a resolution from the California State Senate commending Children's Hospital for its comprehensive sickle cell treatment program. Sickle cell disease can cause extraordinary pain, Jain said. The disease causes bone marrow to produce mostly ineffective red blood cells, cutting off oxygen to the body. When a bone starts to die because of lack of oxygen, it causes severe pain. “Imagine a two-year-old going through that pain every single day until they die. It’s horrible,” Jain said. Roughly 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year in the United States, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. The disease largely affects African Americans. Jain says 1 in 7 Black adults are carriers of the condition, and two people who are carriers becoming parents are likely to have a child with sickle cell disease. Jain came to establish the program at Loma Linda five years ago after conducting similar work in New York, bringing comprehensive treatment to a sorely needed spot in California. When the California senate passed a resolution last year to honor Children’s Hospital, legislators also passed a concurring resolution honoring Jain. “I’ve always wanted to live a life of significance, and I think I’ve found that life in work of this niche that has been created by God,” Jain said. ____________________ By Ansel Oliver