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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING BLOOD CANCER AND SICKLE CELL AWARENESS MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, the month of September is National Blood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month, a month-long initiative designated by Congress to help focus attention on the need for research and treatment of blood cancer and sickle cell diseases; and
WHEREAS, Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, in which red blood cells may become sickle-shaped and harden. For a baby to be born with sickle cell disease, both parents must carry a sickle cell trait or gene. Sickle cell disease is not contagious, and there is no universal cure; and
WHEREAS, about 1 in 13 African Americans carry the sickle cell trait, and many do not know they have it; an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. have SCD, with approximately 2,000 babies born with SCD annually in the United States; and
WHEREAS, people of many ethnic backgrounds can have SCD, but it disproportionately affects Black and Brown Americans, with more than 90% of U.S. cases occurring in non-Hispanic Black or African American individuals, and an estimated 3%-9% occurring in Hispanic or Latino individuals; and
WHEREAS, sickle cell disease leads to complications including chronic, severe, and unpredictable pain, anemia, frequent infections, swelling in the extremities, fatigue, and delayed growth, and was identified as an underlying medical condition associated with increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including hospitalization, ICU admission, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death; and
WHEREAS, this national focus reinforces the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) continued support of SCD research, education, and capacity building, including the "Cure Sickle Cell Initiative" to accelerate safe, effective, and scalable gene therapies to cure the disease; and
WHEREAS, because of advances and medical breakthroughs in genetic therapies and research, new curative options for sickle cell disease are now reaching patients outside of clinical trials - including a gene therapy shown in its pivotal trial to eliminate severe pain crises in the large majority of treated patients; and
WHEREAS, in December 2023, the FDA approved the first two cell-based gene therapies for sickle cell disease, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, for patients aged 12 and older; previously, the only options for people with sickle cell disease were treatments to manage symptoms or donor stem cell transplants, which carry serious risks; and
WHEREAS, in July 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 35 jurisdictions - 33 states, including the State of Illinois, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico - had joined its new, voluntary Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model, under which the federal government has negotiated "outcomes-based agreements" with cell and gene therapy manufacturers so that state Medicaid agencies can deliver these treatments to people with sickle cell disease; and
WHEREAS, an international clinical trial has advanced another curative option for sickle cell disease: haploidentical bone marrow transplant using thiotepa and posttransplant cyclophosphamide, an approach researchers have identified as a safer and more affordable alternative to myeloablative gene therapy and gene-editing treatments for many patients; and
WHEREAS, results from this international, multicenter phase 2 trial, published June 20, 2024 in the American Society of Hematology's journal Blood, showed a two-year overall survival rate of 94.1%, with no difference in outcomes between children and adults; and
WHEREAS, individuals can help be part of the solution by donating blood, which remains one of the most valuable treatments for sickle cell patients, but less than 10% of Americans donate blood, and only about 5% of blood donors are of African ancestry, even though sickle cell patients benefit most from transfusions closely matched to their own ethnic background; and
WHEREAS, education and research - including learning about sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait, and getting tested for sickle cell trait if you are of African descent and do not know your status - are other ways to contribute to this important cause; and
WHEREAS, blood cancers - including leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin's disease - are among the world's most prevalent and dangerous cancers, and every 3 minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer; more than 1.3 million Americans are living with or in remission from a blood cancer; and
WHEREAS, blood cancers are the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., but many people don't know the impact of blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, and despite progress, more than one-third of blood cancer patients still do not survive five years after diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, giving blood is also important for blood cancer patients; although blood transfusions do not treat the blood cancer itself, they provide healthy blood cells when a patient's body isn't producing its own, helping relieve symptoms and side effects; and
WHEREAS, additionally, for patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases, a bone marrow or cord blood transplant may be their best or only hope for a cure; however, about 70% of patients who need a transplant do not have a fully matched donor in their family, which is why it's important to encourage people to sign up as potential donors; and
WHEREAS, the disparities faced by blood cancer patients mirror disparities faced broadly in the United States, with minority groups disproportionately affected across different blood cancer diseases, including higher incidence rates - for example, Black Americans have more than double the incidence of multiple myeloma compared with other races or ethnicities; and
WHEREAS, among people under the age of 20, Hispanics have the highest rate of leukemia of any ethnicity - in children, by more than 20%; and
WHEREAS, this Honorable Body wishes to promote and raise awareness of Blood Cancer and Sickle Cell Diseases in Cook County and encourage everyone to be a part of this national effort to increase awareness about blood cancer and sickle cell diseases during the month of September, and to stand united to improve the health of those living with them;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the more than 5.2 million residents of Cook County, do hereby take this opportunity to acknowledge Blood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in conjunction with National Blood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month, that the month of September 2026 be hereby declared Blood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month in the County of Cook; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this text be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body.
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