September 22, 2025
Prairie View is launching its Student Sickle Cell Warrior Project, a first-of-its-kind program designed to support college students living with SCD.
According to the Red Cross, sickle cell disease (SCD) first appeared in Africa thousands of years ago because carrying the sickle cell trait helped people survive malaria, a deadly disease in the region. Long before Western medicine studied it, African tribes had their own names for the condition. Today, SCD affects people of many backgrounds, but it continues to impact Black Americans the most.
In light of this, Prairie View A&M University is launching its Student Sickle Cell Warrior Project, a first-of-its-kind program, which has been designed to support college students who are living with SCD. According to a press release from the university, the program, which launched on Sept. 17, will serve as a model for universities across the country.
Per the university’s press release, in Texas alone, Black families account for 85% of all SCD diagnoses, and often while away from their primary care physicians, students can be unsure of how to manage their specific needs.
Prairie View A&M students who are identified by the university’s Owens Franklin Health Center will be connected to specialized care at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, or UT Houston, and they will also be eligible for additional support through the Sickle Cell Association of Texas Marc Thomas Foundation located in Austin.
The university owes its selection for the site of the pilot program to the presence of Dr. Tondra L. Moore, the executive director of Health Services at PVAMU, who has been recognized for her outstanding work with the American College Health Association.
According to Dr. Moore, “This is great opportunity for Prairie View to help establish a model of support for college students nationwide who have been diagnosed with sickle cell disease.”
According to a study conducted by several hospital clinicians posted to scientific health journal Science Direct, the “transition to adulthood, the period of time during which young people become young adults as their economic and psychosocial circumstances shift, is especially challenging for adolescents and young adults (AYA) with chronic conditions and disabilities.” And as such, a program like the one at Prairie View A&M University could prove to be transformational for the 18-24 age group that tends to populate college campuses.
Specifically, as it relates to SCD, the study notes that “supporting AYA in developing the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to take greater responsibility for their own selves and health during the years leading up to, during, and after officially transferring to adult care can play a critical role in promoting positive health and life outcomes…However, there is still a need to adapt and expand these programs to better address the systemic and personal challenges that many AYA with SCD encounter during the transition period.”
This appears to be precisely the need that the pilot program is seeking to fill, according to WashU Medicine, one of the partners of the Prairie View A&M University SCD Warrior Project.
On the informed consent form it notes, “Participants will have access to direct support and resources from community-based organizations and sickle cell disease (SCD) experts. This can empower them to better manage their health, navigate the healthcare system, and improve their overall quality of life. By improving access to coordinated and preventative care, the initiative has the potential to reduce emergency visits, hospitalizations, and complications-leading to annual healthcare cost savings related to SCD within the region.”
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