Seattle Children’s is Making a Difference for Kids with Sickle Cell Disease

Seattle Children’s treats the most kids with sickle cell disease in the Pacific Northwest. Our Sickle Cell Team works diligently to improve and enhance care for children, teens, and young adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) by expanding services, hours, and staffing, with a special focus on hiring a diverse team that reflects the demographics of the families we serve.

Two (2) out of three (3) patient families that receive care at Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC) identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, a demographic that is more at risk for SCD. For more than two decades, we have treated patients with SCD and we aim to be a medical home and center of excellence in which all families feel empowered, welcomed, and well cared for. As part of our ongoing program enhancements, we launched a new program in January 2024 that pairs every patient with SCD with an equity-focused social worker. The social worker will ensure patient families have the resources and support they need during their stay.

Our team of local providers is working every day to ensure kids with sickle cell disease have full, active lives. With lifesaving treatments, education and preventative screenings, Seattle Children’s aims to be a support system for kids like Jude – from their health to life at school and at home.

Jude’s pain started at just four days old. Her family was scared and heartbroken, so they went looking for answers – and found Seattle Children’s, together with the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC).