Global Sickle Cell Forum Launches for Physicians to Explore Debilitating Condition

A new online community for physicians has been launched, The
Global Sickle Cell Forum (www.sicklecellforum.org). The site allows
physicians to interact and share information about pediatric sickle
cell disease management.

Lead by co-chairs Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, M.D. of the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia and Elliott P. Vichinsky, M.D. of the
Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, the Global Sickle
Cell Forum enables physicians to post questions and have live
discussions on issues they may be facing in their practices.

"Sickle cell disease can be challenging for both patients and
clinicians due to the complexity of the illness," said Dr.
Ohene-Frempong. "Clinicians can benefit greatly from the knowledge of
their peers."

Global Sickle Cell Forum will allow medical colleagues from all
over the world to share information about the disease and will contain
information such as:

-- Challenging patient cases

-- Diagnosis guidelines, treatment options, and patient
management strategies

-- Slide presentations and study data

-- Clinical trials, research opportunities, and relevant
medical meetings

"We hope that this site will help those of us who treat sickle
cell disease by providing a place to share our insights, expertise and
professional experiences so that we can improve management strategies
for our pediatric patients," said Dr. Vichinsky.

The Global Sickle Cell Forum was created through an educational
grant provided by Novartis Oncology.