Russell E. Ware, MD, PhD

At its annual meeting in May 2008, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology presented a special symposium entitled “Therapy for Children with Sickle Cell Anemia: Yes, No, or Maybe?” After the presentation of four hypothetical cases of children with sickle cell anemia, audience members used hand-held devices to vote their preference for therapy for each case. The options were: (1) observation alone, (2) chronic transfusion therapy, (3) hydroxyurea therapy, or (4) stem cell transplantation. Following an initial vote, a panel of distinguished speakers presented deliberately polarizing arguments for each therapy; then the vote was repeated. The impassioned arguments for each option and erudite discussion by expert panelists swayed the voters not a whit; the distributions were nearly the same before and after their presentations.