Martin Center, Inc., Circle City Hot Steppers Committee will sponsor the 8^th Annual “Sickle Cell Fun 5k Walk/Run” on 26 June 2004 at 7:00a.m.

The purpose of this event is to foster public awareness through out Central Indiana of the devastating sickle cell disease and to raise funds for those affected with this non-curable disease through the Martin Center Inc. programs.

1) Sickle Cell Disease (in this article referred to as ‘SCD’) is an inherited disease of red blood cells that is a major health problem in the United States.

2) Approximately, 70,000 Americans have SCD and approximately 1,800 American babies are born with the disease each year.  SCD also is a global problem with close to 300,000 babies born annually with the disease.

3) In the United States, SCD is most common in African-Americans and in those of Hispanic, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern ancestry.  Among newborn American infants, SCD occurs in approximately 1 in 300 African-Americans, 1 in 36,000 Hispanics, and 1 in 80,000 Caucasians.

4) More than 2,500,000 Americans, mostly African-Americans, have the sickle cell trait.  These Americans are healthy carriers of the sickle cell gene who have inherited the normal hemoglobin gene from 1 parent and the sickle gene from the other parent.  A sickle cell trait is not a disease, but when both parents have the sickle cell trait, there is a 1 in 4 chance with each pregnancy that the child will be born with SCD.

5) The most feared complications for children with SCD is a stroke (either overt or silent) occurring in 30 percent of the children with sickle cell anemia prior to their 18^th birthday and occurring in infants as young as 18 months of age.  Students with SCD and silent strokes may not have any physical signs of such disease or strokes but may have a lower educational attainment when compared to children with SCD and no strokes.  Approximately 60 percent of students with silent strokes have difficulty in school; require special education, or both.

6) Many adults with SCD have acute problems, such as frequent pain episodes and acute lung complications that can result in death.  Adults with ACD can also develop chronic problems, including pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, degenerative changes in the shoulder and hip joints, poor vision, and kidney failure.

7) The average life span for an adult with SCD is the mid-40s. While some patients can remain without symptoms for years, many others may not survive infancy or early childhood.  Causes of death include bacterial infection, stroke, and lung, kidney, heart, or liver failure.  Bacterial infections and lung injuries are leading causes of death in children with adults with SCD.

The Martin Center Inc., is dedicated to improving the health and well being of disadvantaged persons who are subject to economic disparities, cultural indifference, and systemic inequities.  Our mission is to serve persons with Sickle Cell Disease and other Hemoglobinopathies, and to increase public awareness about their conditions, and other health issues that plague our society.  Accountability to the people we serve, educating an unknowing public, and maintaining a high quality, effective delivery system are our primary goals.

Your support of this event will be greatly appreciated.  Please urge your members to participate in the Annual event on 26 June 04 starting at 7am at Riverside Family Center, 2420 East Riverside Drive, Indianapolis.  If you have questions and/or want more info, please call the Martin Center at 927-5158. Thanks.