All of Sanna’s life, she has lived with an inherited blood disorder, called Thalassemia. It means there’s less haemoglobin in her blood, which is needed to carry oxygen around the body.  Every four weeks Sanna spends a day in hospital having a blood transfusion, without this she’d become anaemic and extremely tired.   Although not outwardly visible, Thalassemia impacts heavily on day to day life.  As a child Sanna often found herself too tired to join in with activities or be able to fully participate in school life.  And until now, has never ridden a bike.

At 12 years old she was introduced to OSCAR Birmingham, a project supporting children with Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia.  Here Sanna was able to meet others like her and get the support she needed.   Now aged 20, Sanna is still at OSCAR to mentor younger children, giving the same support back that she once received.  She has also become inspired to train as a child nurse.

OSCAR Birmingham

This project provides a mentoring service to children and young people with Sickle Cell Anaemia and Thalassaemia, to help reduce feelings of social exclusion and build relationships.