SM 43
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A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH REPORT ON THE COSTS
IN NEW MEXICO OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE, WHICH
DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC NEW
MEXICANS.
WHEREAS, sickle cell disease is the most common
inherited blood disorder in the country; and
WHEREAS, sickle cell disease creates a chronic, painful
condition that affects people throughout their lives; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, most patients with sickle
cell disease are of African, Hispanic or Mediterranean
descent; and
WHEREAS, people of all ethnic backgrounds can have
sickle cell disease; and
WHEREAS, about one in three hundred seventy-five African
American babies and one in one thousand to one thousand four
hundred Hispanic babies are diagnosed with sickle cell
disease each year in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the average lifespan of a person with sickle
cell disease is only forty-five years; and
WHEREAS, approximately one in every four thousand
Americans is born with a form of sickle cell disease; and
WHEREAS, two and one-half million Americans have the
sickle cell trait; and
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SM 43
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WHEREAS, sickle cell disease affects the lives of
thousands who are hampered by physical and mental limitations
and debilitating pain; and
WHEREAS, while research and treatment are progressing,
patients with sickle cell disease suffer from dangerous blood
clots and are prone to strokes;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health be
requested to study the affects and incidence of sickle cell
disease in New Mexico; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be
requested to report to the interim legislative health and
human services committee on its findings by the committee's
November 2007 meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretary of health, the chair and
vice-chair of the health and human services committee and to
the governor.