Sickle-cell disease is a genetic condition affecting one in every 150 births in Jamaica. The disease comes as a result of inheriting abnormal haemoglobin genes from both parents. The Sickle Cell Trust's Manchester project is a venture designed to give teenagers in the parish a chance to identify whether or not they have the trait, so that they can make informed decisions about the partners they choose. The project, which is in its third year, hopes at the end of its five-year tenure - if the rates of sickle-cell births are reduced - to have a model to present to the Ministry of Health. The Gleaner has produced a video on a visit by project personnel to Porus High School in Manchester, where 90 students were screened.

Follow the screenings online at www.jamaica-gleaner.com.