Miffy is using her fame: Together we beat sickle cell disease

Every year, hundreds of thousands of children worldwide are born with sickle cell disease. Without treatment, the majority of these children will not live past five years of age. To give the fight against this disease a helping hand, Miffy wants to use her publicity.

An inherited blood disease

Sickle cell disease is still very much unknown to many. For decades, too little money has been made available for research because of this. Sickle cell disease is the most common hereditary blood disease in the world. In this disease, red blood cells, which are normally round, are sickle-shaped.

Or they look like half a moon. Hence the name sickle cell disease. Features common to this disease include severe anemia, excruciating pain attacks and an increased risk of serious infections.

Patients can suffer brain and bone infarcts, kidney damage and heart failure at a young age. Over time the organs in the body are damaged beyond repair.

Thirty million people with sickle cell disease

About thirty million people worldwide suffer from sickle cell disease. Three hundred thousand children are affected every year. Without treatment, 75% of these children will not live past five years of age. Also in the Netherlands there are thousands of patients who need treatment.

Through stem cell transplantation or gene therapy, they can potentially be cured. So scientific research is very important. Unfortunately, this disease is still relatively unknown.

As a result, not enough funds are available to conduct much-needed, groundbreaking research. The Sickle Cell Fund is committed to raising awareness of this disease and Miffy wants to help them do so.

Miffy helps fight sickle cell disease

Miffy, loved by children around the world, is going to use her fame to create more attention for sickle cell disease. And so Miffy’s goal is to raise 1 million euros for research into cures. To achieve this, a special Miffy cuddly toy and an exclusive Miffy booklet will be released in the coming months. The proceeds will be donated to the Sickle cell fund.

In addition, there will be numerous other activities throughout the year. At the 2020 Nine Months Fair, the campaign will be officially launched. All fair bags will include a brochure with information about this disease

Sickle cell disease is too painful not to know about.