Question: how does sickle cell disease affect the spleen?
Answer: Sickle cells can block the blood vessels leading out of the spleen. When this happens, blood stays in the spleen instead of flowing through it. This causes the spleen to get bigger, and the blood counts to fall. This is called a splenic sequestration (SPLEN ik seh ques TRAY shun) crisis, or simply “spleen crisis.”