Nantes University Hospital mobilizes for comprehensive and innovative care for sickle cell disease in children and adolescents. This is still a little-known genetic disease.

Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease in France and worldwide, yet it remains relatively unknown. It is a chronic blood disorder that causes red blood cells to deform, leading to:

• Severe and often extremely intense pain crises;
• Chronic anemia;
• Increased susceptibility to infections;
• Chronic fatigue;
• Complications affecting multiple organs.

The disease more frequently affects people originating from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and India. Neonatal screening, now offered universally, enables early diagnosis and treatment from infancy, helping to prevent disease complications.

While treatments exist to alleviate symptoms, only bone marrow transplantation—reserved for patients with the most severe forms and a compatible family donor—can provide a cure. Active medical research in this field is opening the door to other innovative treatments, such as gene therapy, for patients with severe forms who do not have a suitable family donor.

At Nantes University Hospital, a reference center for Red Blood Cell and Erythropoiesis Disorders, around 450 patients are followed from childhood to adulthood through comprehensive multidisciplinary care involving physicians, advanced practice nurses, teachers, social workers, and adapted physical activity instructors.

A therapeutic education program offered by the hospital for children, adolescents, and their families helps patients become more autonomous in managing this chronic disease and improves their quality of life.

This education continues outside the hospital in partnership with the AOPA association (Association Onco Plein Air), through outdoor stays promoting adapted physical activity.

Finally, the innovative “Drepanage” program, launched in 2026 and designed by the Nantes team (in partnership with Nantes University and with support from the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Hôpital Saint-Jacques), is aimed at children with sickle cell disease. It facilitates access to aquatic confidence, a prerequisite for learning to swim. Indeed, learning to swim can be challenging due to the risk of pain crises triggered by physical exertion.

The Drepanage program is based on heated pool sessions (balneotherapy), supervised by trained professionals, using a progressive and individualized approach. Its goal is to improve aquatic confidence, enhance safety, promote physical activity, and improve quality of life while respecting medical constraints.

Beyond physical benefits, Drepanage also aims to reduce feelings of social and school exclusion by giving children the opportunity to safely participate in aquatic activities.

Located in the heart of the Nantes metropolitan area, Nantes University Hospital employs nearly 13,000 staff who contribute to the values of public healthcare: equality, continuity, neutrality, and adaptability. With its nine facilities, the hospital is a center of excellence, referral, and expertise at regional and interregional levels, while also providing primary and local care to the 800,000 residents of the Nantes/Saint-Nazaire metropolitan area.

Located on the south bank of the Loire, a new hospital will open in 2027. 

The largest hospital project currently underway in France, it will form the foundation of the future health district, a project with a European dimension. 

With 1,417 beds and 296 places, as well as a 10% increase in critical care capacity, the new hospital will enable 64% of outpatient stays in a more modern, connected, sustainable, and comfortable environment for both patients and staff.

17.06.2026.