Sickle cell disease describes not just one, but a group of inherited red blood disorders (NIH, 2015). The disorders affect hemoglobin, which is a protein found in red blood cells that provides oxygen to cells in the human body. The disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern (UUHS, 2015). A child does not inherit the disease unless both parents pass on a faulty copy of the gene (UUHS, 2015). A person who inherits one good gene and one bad gene is simply a carrier. The main phenotypic characteristics of an individual distinct from the disease are sickle-shaped blood cells. Blood cells are usually round and flexible so they can travel easily through blood vessels. When people contain the disease, their red blood cells are distorted by hemoglobin into a sickle and crescent shape (GHR,