GSTM1 and anemia: However, its importance has been highlighted in more recent studies, including two that were conducted in Kilifi county in Kenya which found that the incidence of hospital admission with severe anemia (hemoglobin [Hb] < 5.0 g/dl) was between 30 and 60 times higher in children with than without SCA, and that children with SCA receive between 10% and 20% of all transfusions administered to children.3, 4