The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that has become a global public health concern after being first reported in China and has subsequently spread worldwide. It causes mild to severe respiratory illness with some flu-like symptoms. The causal virus behind this disease, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), conceivably attacks the receptors of the respiratory system of the human body but has no strict evidence of attacking the blood cells yet. However, patients with hemoglobin disorders (e.g., sickle cell anemia, thalassemia) are vulnerable to this global health situation due to their clinical complications. Such patients are generally more prone to viral and bacterial infections, which can worsen their physical condition. Some of these patients present immunocompromised conditions, e.g., splenectomized or post-transplant patients. Therefore, they should follow some preventive steps such as shielding as well as the general guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic. Transfusion dependent patients require regular monitoring for iron overload, and iron chelation therapy may be stopped by the physician depending on the situation. This article reviews the management strategies and provides some crucial recommendations for people in the corner with hemoglobin disorders.

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted every aspect of our life. The need to provide high-level care for an enormous number of patients with COVID-19 infection during this pandemic has impacted resourcing for and restricted the routine care of all non-COVID-19 conditions. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the people living with rare disorders, who represent a marginalized group of the population even in a normal world, have not received enough attention that they deserve. Due to the pandemic situation, they have experienced (and experiencing) an extreme inadequacy of regular clinical services, counseling, and therapies they need, which have made their life more vulnerable and feel more marginalized. Besides, the clinicians, researchers, and scientists working on rare genetic diseases face extra challenges due to the pandemic. Many ongoing research projects and clinical trials for rare and genetic diseases were stalled to avoid patients' and research staff's transmission to COVID-19. Still, with all the odds, telehealth and virtual consultations for rare disease patients have shown hope. The clinical, organizational, and economic challenges faced by institutions, patients, their families, and the caregivers during the pandemic indicate the importance of ensuring continuity of care in managing rare diseases, including adequate diagnostics and priority management strategies for emergencies. In this review, we endeavored to shed light on the issues the rare disease community faces during the pandemic and the adaptations that could help the rare disease community to better sustain in the coming days.

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Since 2004, the ISCB Student Council (ISCB-SC) has successfully organized Student Council Symposia across several continents, including North America, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, as well as local events led by more than 25 Regional Student Groups (RSG) across the world. The ISCB-SC Symposia provide students and early career researchers the chance to showcase their work at an international venue in a format that includes keynote talks, round table discussions, workshops, and more. After several efforts spanning several years to build enough critical mass in the region, we have successfully organized the first Asian Student Council Symposium (1st ASCS). This article discusses the organizational details of this unprecedented event, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned.

Sickle cell anemia is the most common genetic disorder that affects hemoglobin. People with this disorder have atypical hemoglobin molecules called hemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent shape. Sickle cell disease is an increasing global health problem. Estimates suggest that every year approximately 300,000 infants are born with sickle cell anemia, which is defined as an autosomal recessive disorder. The objective of this study is to show that the newborn screening of sickle cell anemia is possible through the procedure by utilizing the cord blood. Materials and Methods:A total number of 30 samples were collected from individual mother and cord blood. DNA was extracted from 13 mothers and 13 fetal cord blood samples and used these DNA to detect sickle cell anemia using wild type and mutant type primer.Results: β hemoglobin gene was amplified by wild type and mutant type primer using PCR and revealed 517bp and 267bp length DNA fragments, respectively. In this study, it was observed that only one homozygous (Hb S/S) mother and newborn found. Most of the mothers and newborns were carrier of sickle cell anemia which means they were heterozygous (Hb A/S). Two pairs were found where mother was carrier, but newborns were healthy (Hb A/A). Conclusions:With this study, it can come to the point that the newborn screening of sickle cell anemia is possible through the procedure by utilizing the cord blood that is wasted every time during delivery. By maternal screening in this way, the probability of disease transmission can also be checked earlier. For Bangladesh, this approach can be an effective tool for screening sickle cell anemia.