Individuals living with Sickle Cell should be treated with love, care, and patience. They are very much like every other human, and should not be stigmatized against due to the condition. However, quiet a number of people avoid dating them due to fear, and myths that they do not live long and others due to family rejection and interference.

Dating someone with a complex medical condition like sickle cell can be very challenging, but also achievable. Before deciding to date a sickle cell individual, educate yourself thoroughly on sickle cell to understand the general idea of what you will be signing up for.

In addition, get tested at the hospital to know your genotype status; If you are AA, then you have no chance of passing on the sickle cell disease if you do have a child with someone that has sickle cell disease. Your offspring will have the trait however, and must be properly educated on how to avoid passing the disease on to the next generation.

However, if you are AS, then more deliberation is needed. This means that you are a carrier of the trait of sickle cell, and that you have the potential to pass the full blown disease on to your children if you mate with a sickle cell warrior (SS). There is a 50% chance with EVERY pregnancy that you can pass the disease on. So you have to be more cautious and knowledgeable about the condition if this is the case.

Moreover, there are some people with sickle disease who do not have children with the sickle cell disease, while there are others who do have children with the sickle cell disease. The chances are high when AS and SS people marry; hence, be very careful as to reduce the chances of spreading the disease.

You might have to take on the responsibilities of the household when the sickle cell patient is ill, and may have to shoulder majority of the burdens at times. You might have to assume the caregiver role, as well as being a bulwark of support and patient advocate. You might have to be the trailblazer searching for new treatment methods, or nagging your loved one to take their medication. You might have to pack an extra sweater just in case, or suffer through heat because your loved one is cold.

It takes a patient and special person to love and adore a sickle cell individual.