Sickle cell disease cure pioneer comes to Oakton Feb. 23

Santosh L. Saraf, M.D., will discuss the groundbreaking developments being made in curing adults with sickle cell anemia at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Oakton's Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road (Room 1604). His talk is free and open to the public.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have conducted a clinical trial that has cured 12 adults of sickle cell disease using stem cell transplantation from healthy, tissue-matched siblings. The treatment was developed by the National Institutes of Health. Saraf, assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology/oncology at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, was a co-investigator of the trial. He will detail the breakthrough remedy and the barriers of cell transplantation specific to sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell is a hereditary blood disease where red blood cells are misshapen, making it difficult to carry oxygen throughout the body. It is most common in people of African descent. According to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, more than 70,000 Americans suffer from sickle cell disease.

The lecture is sponsored by Oakton's Center for Promoting STEM and the Student Government Association. For information, contact Gloria Liu, at glorial@oakton.edu.