Bone Marrow Transplantation, Hemoglobinopathies, SCALLOP

Patients are being asked to participate in this study because they have severe sickle cell anemia (SCD) with or without the beta thalassemia trait. Sickle cell anemia is an illness where the red blood cells change shape and can clog up blood vessels. This keeps the body from getting the oxygen it needs. Thalassemia is when the body does not make enough hemoglobin, something that helps the oxygen get to the places it needs to go in the body. The patient may or may not need to get regular blood transfusions (getting more blood) to improve their quality of life (feel better) and prevent organ damage (problems with the brain, heart, lung, kidney, and gonad, for example.). The transfusions can also cause problems, including iron overload (too much iron in the blood), which can be fatal (patients can die) without regular deferoxamine shots. Even with the best usual treatments, people with thalassemia or SCD die sooner. There is no proven cure. We would like to treat patients using bone marrow transplantation, a treatment that has been used for people with SCD. The transplant uses healthy "matched" bone marrow. This comes from a brother or sister who does not have sickle cell disease or severe thalassemia. If the treatment works, the sickle cell disease or thalassemia may be cured. This treatment has been used to treat patients with sickle cell disease or thalassemia. It has worked in most cases. We hope, but cannot promise, that the transplanted marrow will make healthy cells, and patients will not have sickle cell disease or severe thalassemia anymore. We do not know what effect this treatment will have on the damage that has already been done by the disease. Finding that out is the main reason for this study. Currently, very little has been reported about organ function after bone marrow transplants in patients with sickle cell anemia.