Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc.

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc. (SCFG) and early awareness of Sickle Cell Anemia.  For half a century, the Foundation has worked on three core strategies: to identify persons at risk of the disease, to help the thousands who suffer from it, and ultimately, to end all new sickle cell disease births in Georgia.  

Support SCFG by Giving! Tuesday, November 30, 2021. You can donate today or on Giving Tuesday to help us reach our $20,000 goal.

Did you know that Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States, mostly African Americans? Georgia has the fourth-largest Sickle Cell population in the nation. Today, over 13,000 Georgians have Sickle Cell Disease.  

An often painful and deadly genetic blood disorder, Sickle Cell, occurs in about 1 out of every 365 Black births; and about 1 in 13 Black babies are born with Sickle Cell Trait (SCT).

The late Dr. Nelson McGhee and the late Dr. Delutha H. King, Jr. established SCFG in 1971, and they were determined to save black lives and warn about the little-known disease ravaging the community. Thus, the rallying cry continued -- education, testing, and assistance to help patients live longer with better treatments.  By 1979, SCFG actively participated in passing a Georgia law that requires mandatory newborn testing for SCD and other abnormal hemoglobin. Today, Newborn Screening Programs have been adopted nationally.  As a result, babies with SCD are identified at birth.

SCFG is the only state-wide community organization providing Sickle Cell education, testing, counseling, and transition services.  SCFG works daily with the state of Georgia, medical facilities, Sickle Cell support groups, health care providers, volunteers, and other stakeholders to maintain the life-saving services being provided to families despite the pandemic.   

SCFG processes food stamp applications by phone and in-person, deploys a mobile clinic for in-person appointments, operates a clinical laboratory, and provides sickle cell counseling and sickle cell test.   

SCFG’s Community Health Workers help ensure equal access to a Hematologist, health care, and financial resources in underserved communities. 

Help us REACH our $20,000 GAgives goal as we continue to help Georgians “#LiveWellwithSickleCell.” 

For more information, visit our website at https://www.sicklecellga.org