The authorities originally said that Mr Ashiri had died from complications resulting from sickle cell anaemia.

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It is thought that the technique could now be adapted to treat patients with genetic diseases such as sickle cell anaemia.

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You may also be offered a test for sickle cell anaemia or thalassemia if you are from a high risk group.

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Poloxamer 188 has already been tested in humans with sickle cell anaemia and was found to be safe in the short term - 24 hours of use.

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Imani, who was a pupil at Fircroft Primary School in Tooting, suffered from sickle cell anaemia and had been given permission by the school for her extended trip to Jamaica.

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Early trials have shown promise in treating sickle-cell anaemia, a disease caused by a faulty haemoglobin gene.

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Sickle-cell anaemia, caused by genes protect against malaria, is the most famous example.

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In the 1950s Anthony Allison, a British biochemist, observed that Africans who carry a single copy of the genetic mutation that causes sickle-cell anaemia are protected against malaria.

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