Anemia Children with sickle cell disease usually have anemia. There are times, however, when their blood count experiences a substantial drop in red blood cells. Failure to adequately replace the red blood cells can cause pallor, fatigue, and loss of appetite. This is discussed in detail in the next section. Normal red blood cells live for approximately four months before they break down.
Regeneration normally occurs within four months.
Sickled red blood cells live less than one month. The body is unable to produce sufficient red blood cells for replacement, resulting in anemia. These are often normal findings in a child with sickle cell disease. An aplastic crisis is a sudden severe drop in the hemoglobin. In other words, a person becomes more anemic than usual.