Atlantis Shines Light on Sickle Cell

Wed, Sep 28th 2022, 07:43 PM
When the sun goes down the red light goes up at the entrance to Atlantis’ Royal and Coral Towers, in
a bid to shine a light on a hereditary blood disorder which takes center stage this Sickle Cell Awareness
Month.
“We do not light up for every cause, but Sickle Cell Disease is prevalent in people of African descent,
our primary population in The Bahamas. Atlantis thought it important to bring awareness to SCD,”
said Viana Gardiner, the resort’s vice president of public affairs and special projects.
According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Sickle Cell Disease causes the body to
produce crescent or sickle-shaped red blood cells. These cells have difficulty passing through small
blood vessels and block normal red blood cells from entering tissue. Parts of the body that do not
receive normal blood flow eventually become damaged which could result in anemia, vision loss,
chronic pain, deep vein thrombosis, infection, pulmonary embolism and stroke.
“We wanted to shine a light so that parents are aware they can get their newborns screened for Sickle
Cell and begin to receive treatment earlier. We wanted to encourage people to participate in blood
drives that are necessary to assist sickle cell patients in their pain management treatment and we
wanted to inspire others to light it up and to donate funds to support the cause,” said Gardiner.
The red lights, which went up last week, were due to debut earlier in the month. However, the iconic
resort took its lead from the state in observing a period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. The special
lights will continue to illuminate select areas of the property for the remainder of the month.
“We are ecstatic that Atlantis saw it fitting to partner with us in raising awareness of Sickle Cell,” said
Kristin Beneby, president of the Bahamas Sickle Cell Association.
“Corporate collaborations and public sector partnerships are essential if we are to improve the quality
of life for persons living with SCD.”
The BSCA is a non-profit organization that works to educate the public about Sickle Cell and its impact
on patients, their families and caregivers.
The Association’s long-term goals include transforming sicklers’ hospital experience when seeking
emergency care, expanding the organization’s physical presence into more Family Islands and
establishing a home to provide temporary accommodations for sickle cell warriors from the Family
Islands travelling to New Providence for treatment.

When the sun goes down the red light goes up at the entrance to Atlantis’ Royal and Coral Towers, ina bid to shine a light on a hereditary blood disorder which takes center stage this Sickle Cell AwarenessMonth.

“We do not light up for every cause, but Sickle Cell Disease is prevalent in people of African descent,our primary population in The Bahamas. Atlantis thought it important to bring awareness to SCD,”said Viana Gardiner, the resort’s vice president of public affairs and special projects.

According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Sickle Cell Disease causes the body toproduce crescent or sickle-shaped red blood cells. These cells have difficulty passing through smallblood vessels and block normal red blood cells from entering tissue. Parts of the body that do notreceive normal blood flow eventually become damaged which could result in anemia, vision loss,chronic pain, deep vein thrombosis, infection, pulmonary embolism and stroke.

“We wanted to shine a light so that parents are aware they can get their newborns screened for SickleCell and begin to receive treatment earlier. We wanted to encourage people to participate in blooddrives that are necessary to assist sickle cell patients in their pain management treatment and wewanted to inspire others to light it up and to donate funds to support the cause,” said Gardiner.

The red lights, which went up last week, were due to debut earlier in the month. However, the iconicresort took its lead from the state in observing a period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. The speciallights will continue to illuminate select areas of the property for the remainder of the month.

“We are ecstatic that Atlantis saw it fitting to partner with us in raising awareness of Sickle Cell,” saidKristin Beneby, president of the Bahamas Sickle Cell Association.

“Corporate collaborations and public sector partnerships are essential if we are to improve the qualityof life for persons living with SCD.”

The BSCA is a non-profit organization that works to educate the public about Sickle Cell and its impacton patients, their families and caregivers.

The Association’s long-term goals include transforming sicklers’ hospital experience when seekingemergency care, expanding the organization’s physical presence into more Family Islands andestablishing a home to provide temporary accommodations for sickle cell warriors from the FamilyIslands travelling to New Providence for treatment.

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