Structural Racism and Impact on Sickle Cell Disease: Sickle Cell Lives Matter

Wealth begets health: the health care system in the United States is run by and benefits the groups that have traditionally held power. Systems of structural racism and health care disparities persist. Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) remain particularly vulnerable to disparities. They suffer from stigmas, lack of well-trained providers, and from misalignment of their needs with the priorities of their health care teams. These critically important burdens may actually be worsening rather than improving mortality for individuals living with SCD. Changes must be made at the federal, state, and local levels in order to address these systems of inequity and save vulnerable lives.