Editorial: Seeking sickle cell heros

Published 4:00 pm Sunday, September 22, 2019

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

LifeSouth wants people to stand up and make a difference.

LifeSouth community blood centers are seeking “sickle cell heroes” to support sickle cell disease patients.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that is named for the thin, crescent-shaped red blood cells that face more difficulty passing through blood vessels than healthy, disc-shaped red blood cells, according to LifeSouth representatives.

Patients with SCD may experience symptoms such as chronic fatigue, recurrent episodes of extreme pain, breathlessness and increased risk of complications such as stroke, liver disease and delayed growth, they said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SCD affects approximately 100,000 Americans; it is present in an estimated one in every 365 African-American children born in the United States, and one out of 16,300 Hispanic-American children.

LifeSouth’s 365 Movement focuses on raising awareness for the need of African-American donors and other donors with rare blood types to help patients who need specially matched blood for transfusions 365 days a year.

People living with SCD often need blood transfusions to increase the amount of healthy red blood cells in their bloodstream and lessen the effects of the sickle-shaped cells.

LifeSouth works with hospitals to match SCD patients with sickle cell heroes: donors whose red blood cells are precisely matched to reduce complications from blood transfusions, LifeSouth representatives said.

The best matches are likely to be found within a patient’s own ethnic group. To date, LifeSouth has identified 11,300 sickle cell heroes across Alabama, Florida and Georgia, representatives said.

More are needed.

LifeSouth suggests supporting Sickle Cell Awareness Month in these ways:

• Know your sickle cell status to help prevent passing the gene to children. Prior to 2006, newborns were not tested for SCD. In an effort to help donors know their sickle cell status, LifeSouth will test African-American donors for sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait using hemoglobin electrophoresis throughout September. All donors receiving the testing will be notified by mail of their test results.

• Join the 365 Movement by scheduling regular blood drives to help individuals who could be a potential match for a SCD patient.

• Visit a LifeSouth donor center or blood drive to donate blood. LifeSouth will test each donation to identify potential sickle cell heroes.

• Donate as often as possible if identified blood antigen profile is a match. If identified as a sickle cell hero, donations will help a local patient living with SCD.

• Join the Be The Match Registry. There is no universal cure for SCD, but some patients may qualify for a bone marrow transplant. LifeSouth can assist local donors who are interested in being potential bone marrow or cord blood donors for patients in need, including those living with SCD.

To learn more, visit LifeSouth.org/SickleCell.

We urge people to see if they have what it takes to be a sickle cell hero.