By Faith Noh, The Seattle Medium
Blood donations, especially critical for people with sickle cell disease, remain at low levels and officials are hoping more people will roll up their sleeves.
The Red Cross, for instance, declared its first-ever national blood crisis earlier this year. In this context of recurring nationwide and statewide blood shortages, blood donations from Black donors can be particularly vital for Black sickle cell patients.
Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited blood disorders that decrease the number of red blood cells and leads to blockage of blood flow through the body. Patients can manage this chronic disease with proper treatment including medicines, and if needed, regular blood transfusions. People of African descent are disproportionately affected by sickle cell disease.
Kendra Hogenson is the secretary for the Metropolitan Seattle Sickle Cell Task Force, a nonprofit grassroots organization that provides education and support to people with sickle cell disease in Seattle. As a sickle cell patient, blood transfusions saved her life.
“I’m 51 and proud of it. I wasn’t supposed to live this long,” Hogenson said. “I had routine blood transfusions for 32 years. Now, I still get them but only if I am sick, traveling, or have surgery.”
Monica Rockwell is a sickle cell patient and patient advocate at SWGA Sickle Cell Awareness, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to assist and empower patients. When Rockwell cannot get blood transfusions frequently, she suffers from fatigue.
“Blood transfusions are important because they replace the unhealthy sickle blood cells,” Rockwell said. Both Hogenson and Rockwell are aware that Black patients’ bodies may accept blood better from Black donors than non-Black donors. Research has shown that people with sickle cell disease do better when they receive highly-matched or appropriate red blood cell units. It is more likely to find this phenotypic match in people from a similar heritage.
Dr. M.A. Bender of the Odessa Brown Comprehensive Sickle Cell Clinic, which provides pediatric care to children with sickle cell disease, emphasizes the nuances here. “A common misunderstanding is that Black sickle cell patients need blood from Black donors,” Bender said. “It’s just that finding a better blood match is more likely within the same ethnic group.”
In other words, Black sickle cell patients have a better chance of finding more specialized matches for transfusions when there are more Black donors.
Odessa Brown children’s clinic receives its blood supply from Bloodworks Northwest, a non-profit organization that supplies 95% of the blood supply for hospitals in the Pacific Northwest.
“The vast majority of blood donors, especially around here, are Caucasians of European descent,” said Bender, who works closely with Bloodworks Northwest. “Only about 1% of blood donors up here are Black-identified.”
Bender strongly encourages everyone to donate more blood, but especially people who are not Caucasians of European descent.
On the other hand, Black communities have a historic distrust of the medical system. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the legacy of Henrietta Lacks are only a few of the many medical atrocities committed against Black people.
“But Black people need to donate blood because it directly impacts our community,” Rockwell said. She acknowledges and understands the distrust, but she also hopes that more people would understand that sickle cell disease is a debilitating chronic illness.
Bender also acknowledges how biases in the medical system can be harmful to Black patients and families.
“The medical system historically has not treated sickle cell with respect or fairness,” Bender said. “At Odessa Brown, we place importance in fully supporting families, making access easy and providing care in a respectful manner.”
Hogenson also understands that donating blood can be a hard and scary decision for many people, including in Black communities. “But if I could donate blood, I would,” Hogenson said. “So many people need it, and it saves so many lives.”
“I’m volunteering with Bloodworks right now,” she said. “It’s a big part of my life, to give back to those who gave me my life. I call first-time donors and thank them for donating.”
In the greater Seattle area, Bloodworks Northwest has various centers and pop-up locations where people can donate blood. If you are interested in donating, here are some tips for what you can do to prepare for a donation. For instance, make sure to drink enough fluids the night before and try to eat a bit more salt on the day of your donation.
In addition, Bloodworks Northwest currently has two giveaway events for donors. If you give blood in November, you can enter to win a Nintendo Switch. If you donate anytime by the end of this year, you can enter for a chance to attend the 65th Grammy Awards.
Find a local blood center:
- Bloodworks Northwest https://www.bloodworksnw.org/
- American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org/local/washington.html
- Vitalant https://www.vitalant.org/
- Cascade Regional Blood Services https://www.crbs.net/
