Educational resources for men experiencing sickle cell disorder and an associated condition called priapism which have been published today and we thought would be of interest to your members and you may wish to share across your communication channels.
Priapism are long lasting painful erections which, if left untreated, can permanently damage erectile tissue. Priapism is a common issue for young men with sickle cell and can affect up to 50% of them: unsurprisingly, it is not openly spoken about. A related concern is the mental health of men suffering from this embarrassing condition.
Boston Scientific has partnered with the Sickle Cell Society and Guy & St Thomas’ Hospital in London to create a video about symptoms, guidance on going to hospital, and other resources such as infographics. The key message from the education materials is to get prompt treatment from the hospital for prolonged erections to reduce the risk of permanent erectile damage.
Emma trained at St Barts and the Royal London School of Medicine, University of London and qualified in 2001 and is currently working as a Haematology Consultant between UCLH and the Whittington Hospital. She was Clinical Lecturer in Sickle Cell Disease at King’s College Hospital from 2009 to 2013 and during that time was awarded her PhD based on research into markers of severity and predictors of organ dysfunction in sickle cell disease. In 2013 she was awarded the Early Stage Investigator prize from the British Society of Haematology. She is the Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centre lead for North Central and West London, East Anglia and the South West and Central England.
John James OBE has 33 years of experience within the NHS including 4 CEO roles. He was Chair of the West London Cancer network (2002-2005) and Chair of the North West London Diabetes Network (2003-2004). 
Dr Subarna Chakravorty is a Paediatric Haematologist with a special interest in non-malignant haematology and stem cell transplant for haemoglobinopathy and non-malignant diseases. She joined King’s College Hospital as consultant in July 2015. Prior to that, Subarna led the Paediatric Haemoglobinopathy service at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Imperial Paediatric Red Cell Disorders Network for 5 years, where she was also involved in the bone marrow transplant programme for paediatric haemoglobinopathy. Since 2021, Subarna has been involved in the adult sickle cell bone marrow transplant service at King’s College Hospital.
Dr Rachel Kesse-Adu is a consultant haematologist who qualified in medicine from Imperial College School of Medicine in 2002 and completed her specialist training in haematology at Kings College Hospital in London in 2012.