For many Black sickle cell patients, care must reach deeper
Sickle cell patient Alexis Tappan, right, is checked out by Rana Cooper on at the Methodist Hospital Cancer Institute and Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. Memphis is home to one of the nation’s largest populations of adults living with sickle cell disease. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Memphis is a hub for sickle cell treatment, attracting researchers from across the world. Black patients with the inherited blood disorder not only face chronic pain, but trauma beyond the doctor’s office.
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Mental health Sickle Cell Disease social determinates of health Lemuel Diggs St. Jude Children's Research HospitalAisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
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