Res. No. 335
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Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and fully fund, and the Governor to sign, A.5313/S.4054, legislation that would establish eight demonstration programs throughout New York State and one coordinating center to improve the care of sickle cell disease patients and educate about sickle cell trait
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By Council Members Dromm, Ampry-Samuel, Van Bramer, Miller, Levine, Rivera, Richards, Constantinides, Ayala, Cumbo and Adams
Whereas, Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects approximately 100,000 Americans and is most common in those with African, Hispanic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ancestry; and
Whereas, Nationally, SCD occurs in approximately 1:365 Black or African American births, 1:16,300 Hispanic births and 1:80,000 White births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and
Whereas, In New York State (NYS) SCD occurs in 1:230 live births to non-Hispanic Black mothers, 1:2,320 births to Hispanic mothers and 1:41,647 to non-Hispanic White mothers; and
Whereas, In NYS, 1:1,146 live births have SCD, with 86% of NYS sickle cell disease births among babies with Black mothers and 12% with Hispanic mothers; and
Whereas, Higher birth rates for SCD occur in mothers who were born outside of the US; and
Whereas, In NYS, approximately 70% of all newborns with SCD were born in the NYC area; and
Whereas, Persons with sickle cell trait (SCT) are carriers of the sickle cell gene who have inherited the normal hemoglobin gene from one parent and the sickle cell gene from the other parent; and
Whereas, Approximately 3 million Americans have SCT; and
Whereas, When both parents have SCT there is a 1 in 4 chance with each pregnancy that the child will be born with SCD; and
Whereas, Most people with SCT do not have any symptoms of SCD, however, in rare cases, people with SCT might experience complications of SCD; and
Whereas, The CDC states th...
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