Advocacy

• Micah Felix is the child Ambassador of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada since June 2020. This young talented Canadian and active nine-year old is an advocate for the sickle cell community and inspiration for others.

Coming from an entrepreneurial family, he has decided to become a voice in his generation and create inspiration contents that will entertain and uplift many families dealing with the Sickle Cell Disease across Canada and beyond. Reading books and getting into sports with his brothers or attending official events with his parents are part of his daily life. Spending days at the hospital wasn’t the way he wanted to be remembered but rather finding radical solutions to empower the more he can through media and promoting healthy living.

Awareness, education, research, fundraising, collaborations about Sickle Cell Awareness Month, Sickle Cell Advocacy Day, and World Sickle Cell Day are part of the mission. Blood drive donations, lecturing at hospitals or schools libraries, media appearances are one a few activities that are established to fill out his time aside from school with the partnership of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada. Campaigning for a great cause, championing for a legacy, Micah Felix is the warrior with purpose you need in such of time like this.

Sickle Cell Advocacy

Sickle cell disease

Sickle cell anemia, also known as sickle cell disease, is a blood disorder caused by inherited abnormal hemoglobin, which then causes red blood cells to distort and become sickled cells. These sickled cells are quite fragile and thus are easy to rupture. Anemia sets in when these cells rupture and the number of red blood cells decrease. In addition to rupturing, sickled cells can block blood vessels, which can cause organ and tissue damage as well as pain.

The disorder is the most common genetic disease in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that the sickle cell anemia trait is found in nearly 100 million people worldwide. It is estimated that 5,000 people live with sickle cell disorder in Canada. Many others in Canada are carriers of the sickle cell trait but do not know it.

Race for a cure

Stem cell or bone marrow transplants are the only cure for sickle cell disease, but they're not done very often because of the significant risks involved. These cells then start to produce healthy red blood cells to replace the sickle cells.
We are witnessing now a breakthrough in the treatment of the disease with the recent approval of two new drugs dedicated to Sickle Cell Disease. On November 15, 2019 the Food and Drug Administration (USA) approved Adakveo from Novartis and on November 25th, Oxbryta from GBT.

Let’s raise awareness and take action to improve the lives of many families and ensure that these new therapies are available to the Canadian and Global community as soon as possible.

Sickle Cell Awareness Month / Sickle Cell Advocacy Day / World Sickle Cell / Canada Bill S-211 National Sickle Cell Awareness Day Act

Our Main partner: The Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada

The Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada is committed to increasing awareness about Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), enhancing methods of identification, diagnosis, and treatment towards improving the quality of life of affected individuals and their families. The SCDAC will also encourage the establishment of coordinated clinical services and research initiatives that will support SCD treatments and efforts towards a cure. They believe that attracting clinical and research expertise to undertake and further SCD research in Canadian universities and healthcare settings is essential to lead towards a cure. MKJ3 will support these initiatives. www.sicklecelldisease.ca