On World Sickle Cell Day (Friday 19 June 2026), the British Society for Haematology celebrates the progress being made in sickle cell care while recognising the importance of continued awareness, understanding and equitable access to high-quality care.
* Key facts surrounding Sickle Cell:
- Approximately 17,000 people live with Sickle Cell Disease in the UK
- Fastest growing genetic disorder in the UK
- Around 300 babies are born with Sickle Cell Disease
We were honoured to host the moving performance of Crescent Cell, Sickle Moon at our Annual Scientific Meeting, highlighting the power of lived experience and storytelling in deepening understanding of sickle cell disease. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to listening, learning and supporting improvements in care and outcomes for people living with sickle cell disease across the UK.
Our BSH members discuss how they champion sickle cell awareness and support throughout the year and on this national awareness day.
It is wonderful to celebrate World Sickle Cell Day on June the 19th this year. As in previous years, hospital and community sickle cell teams will organise awareness initiatives around that special midsummer day. We have reached a notable milestone this year of it being 5 years since the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia published its landmark report entitled ‘No One’s Listening’. Many organisations responsible for providing sickle cell care in the UK have responded positively to this report and some real change is being perceived as a result. It is good to reflect on the progress we have made but also acknowledge the challenges we continue to face to provide equitable care to patients.
Since this year’s World Sickle Day theme is around awareness among young people, it is particularly heartening to see how well the Peer Mentoring programme has taken off– this is an NHS funded project that matches older and younger people with sickle cell disease to meet, so that the former can provide support and mentorship to the latter. Access to curative therapies is also improving, and many adolescents and adults are now being able to access gene therapy in the UK, which has been transformational for those who have received it.
So do buy a cake, wear red, and meet your sickle team this June, and celebrate World Sickle Cell Day with us!
Subarna Chakravorty
Haematologist
National Clinical Lead, Haemoglobinopathy, NHS England.
World Sickle Cell Day reminds us that awareness is only the beginning. We move towards deeper understanding by listening carefully to people who navigate sickle cell while shaping lives that extend far beyond their condition. For those of us working in healthcare, today is an opportunity to pause, refresh our vision of consistent and compassionate care, and recommit to getting there.
On behalf of the Sickle Cell Theatre Collective, we were grateful to BSH for hosting a performance of Crescent Cell, Sickle Moon as part of the production's tour. Our behind-the-scenes docufilm will be released later this year on www.crescentcell.com and we are exploring options for the play to have a future tour, reaching out further across the UK . Watch this space!
Stephen Peter Hibbs
(stats shared from https://www.sicklecellsociety.org/about-sickle-cell/ )