Each September we recognize Sickle Cell Awareness Month which emphasizes the importance of having a diverse blood donor community.
What is Sickle Cell Disease?
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited blood disorder, impacting roughly 100,000 Americans (1) and 7.74 million people globally (2), disproportionately affecting those in Black communities.
Red blood cells (RBCs) are primarily made up of hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body and carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Healthy RBCs are round and flexible, allowing efficient movement through small blood vessels to oxygenate tissue throughout the body, and have an average lifespan of 100-120 days.
For someone with sickle cell disease, their hemoglobin is abnormal, causing red blood cells to take an abnormal C-shape, like a sickle. Additionally, these cells become hard and sticky, causing them to get stuck when travelling through small blood vessels, preventing oxygen from reaching the tissues these vessels serve. Sickle cells also experience a shorter lifespan than healthy cells. As a result, sickle cell patients may experience a shortage of red blood cells, pain, and other serious complications, including infection, anemia, pneumonia, stroke, and varying diseases.
Why Matching Matters
American Society of Hematology states, “The only proven cure for sickle cell disease is a bone marrow transplant. This is typically done only when the patient has a relative who is an exact match. A matched non-relative, or a parent who is a half match for the person with sickle cell disease can also be a donor, but these transplants have higher risk.”
For many with sickle cell disease, bone marrow transplant is not a viable option. Instead, they rely on regularly scheduled blood transfusions for system management, restoring healthy red cells that can travel through small blood vessels to provide oxygen rich blood to those harder to reach areas. For others, blood transfusions may only be used as a means of episodic crisis management. These blood transfusions are most successful when the donor is a close match to the recipient. If patients don’t receive a close blood match, they may develop an immune response to antibodies in the transfused blood.
Research has found that 1 in 3 Black donors are a match for a sickle cell patient; whereas only 1 in 40 are a match from other ethnicities. However, only 3% of the eligible population in Central Texas donates, and only a fraction are donors from diverse backgrounds. In fact, nation-wide, only 2% of the Black population donates blood.
Awareness is Key
Raising awareness of sickle cell disease and growing our donor community increases the chances of finding a match for those needing transfusions. Having variation in our blood supply provides Central Texas healthcare providers with the opportunity to offer the best care to the vibrant patient community we serve, ultimately improving health outcomes.
You can help this month by spreading the word about the need for blood donations and the importance of matching donors to local patients, or by donating yourself. Schedule an appointment at a donor center or blood drive nearest you.