The first documented case of sickle cell anemia was published in 1910 by a physician named James Herrick. He described a 20 year old college student who was severely anemic.
Who invented sickle cell?
Peculiar elongated and sickle-shaped is how sickle cells were first described in 1904 by intern Ernest Edward Irons when examining the blood of Walter Clement Noel, a 20-year-old first-year dental student from a wealthy Black family in Grenada.
How did sickle cell originate?
Research shows that the mutation causing sickle cell disease arose in Africa thousands of years ago to help protect against malaria, a historically major cause of death there.
When did sickle cell first appear?
SCD and SCT impact African Americans at disproportionate rates. This is because SCD and SCT are an evolutionary trait that people developed in response to help protect them from malaria. As such, this condition is common in large parts of Africa.