August 2026
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Sukanto Paul: The Day the Sickled Cells Went Home

Sukanto Paul/LinkedIn

Aug 18, 2026, 15:33

Sukanto Paul: The Day the Sickled Cells Went Home

Sukanto Paul, Technical Supervisor at Narayana Health, shared a post on LinkedIn:

”The Day the Sickled Cells Went Home

It was early morning when a young child with sickle cell disease arrived at the apheresis unit. He looked tired, and his family carried the worry that had become all too familiar—the fear of another sickle cell crisis.

The goal was simple but powerful: Remove the child’s sickled red blood cells and replace them with healthy donor red blood cells, reducing the proportion of HbS-containing cells and improving oxygen delivery.

The child was connected to the Spectra Optia apheresis machine. Blood slowly entered the machine, where the red blood cells were separated from the other blood components. The patient’s abnormal red cells were removed in a controlled manner while compatible donor red blood cells were returned to the circulation.

At first, the child watched the machine with curiosity. The gentle rhythm of the procedure continued—blood out, separation, exchange, and blood back in.

For us, every number mattered: hemoglobin, hematocrit, HbS percentage, fluid balance, calcium level, vital signs, and the child’s clinical condition. The procedure was performed carefully with continuous monitoring.

As the exchange progressed, the laboratory target began to come closer—the proportion of sickle hemoglobin was being reduced.

The family watched quietly.

Then came the moment they had been waiting for.

The procedure was completed successfully. The child was stable, comfortable, and surrounded by the team that had cared for him throughout the exchange.

For the family, it was more than an apheresis procedure.

For the child, it was another chance to breathe easier, to play, to go to school, and to live a childhood interrupted too often by sickle cell disease.

And for the apheresis team, it was a reminder that behind every bag of blood and every number on the machine is a child waiting for a better tomorrow.

RBC exchange is not simply the removal and replacement of red cells—it is a carefully coordinated effort to give a child with sickle cell disease a safer tomorrow.”

Sukanto Paul: The Day the Sickled Cells Went Home