About Blood: Sickle Cell Disease

This half-hour television documentary explores how blood works in the body with a focus on sickle cell anemia, a genetic disease that affects red blood cells and is most common among African Americans. We tell the sickle cell story through the eyes of 25-year-old Akron resident, Arthur Brown, and his family. Brown was born with one of the most severe forms: when he was six-weeks old, his mother was told her infant son would likely not to survive to age five. We chronicle Brown's fight against this devastating disease from childhood to the present. Living and thriving as a young adult, Arthur Brown has come close to death more than once and shares his struggles and triumphs with a disease he considers to be both a curse and a gift. Explore all coverage in our "About Blood" series at http://www.ideastream.org/health/blood