An Act respecting a national framework on sickle cell disease

Bill S-201 in 45-1 was a Senate Private Member's Bill respecting a national framework on sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder primarily affecting people of African, Caribbean, and Mediterranean descent. Approximately 5,000 Canadians are estimated to live with sickle cell disease per the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario, with another 100,000 Canadians as silent carriers of the sickle cell trait. The bill called for federal-provincial-territorial coordination on universal newborn screening (Ontario implemented universal screening for sickle cell disease in 2006; several smaller provinces still do not), expanded research funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and improved access to hydroxyurea and newer gene-therapy treatments. Companion to 44-1 Bill S-288 (Inherited Blood Disorders Awareness Day).