Greetings, fine friends, and welcome to another edition of Good People, Good Works.
Ten-year-old Gabriel George of Hutto, Texas, USA is the current national poster child for the non-profit Sickle
Cell Disease Association of America based in the United States.

The Association was formed in １９７１ after １５ locally based organizations decided to join together to work out a national approach to help those with sickle cell disease and search for a cure.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder in which the red blood cells contain mainly hemoglobin S, whereas the cells of most of the population contain hemoglobin A.

The function of hemoglobin, a kind of protein, is to carry oxygen through the body. Hemoglobin S causes the cells to take on a crescent or sickle shape, disrupting circulation in the body’s smaller blood vessels and tissues, which in turn results in damage from lack of oxygen.

Inadequate oxygen manifests as bodily pain, major organ damage, anemia, jaundice, gallstones and stroke. There is no known cure for the condition and frequent blood transfusions are needed to help limit its symptoms.

Let’s now meet the George family, including Gabriel, his elder brother Nathaniel, his mother Cheryl (Shelly)and his father Charles.