Story told by Cheary Shelim, Red Cross Volunteer

Rossi Brown, a comedian living in Charleston, SC, has battled sickle cell disease his whole life. The inherited blood condition has made him prone to fatigue and susceptible to infections. Over the years, he has received numerous blood transfusions as part of his treatment to manage complications and severe pain.  

“I would get pneumonia often,” he reflects. “Whenever you get hospitalized, if your hemoglobin’s low enough, you’ll go through a blood transfusion.” 

Then, in high school, he suddenly had a stroke. After that, he was placed on monthly blood transfusions for prevention. Every time he receives a blood transfusion, he feels a huge difference.  

“It is like night and day,” Rossi said. “Normally you’re just soldiering on, and you don’t realize how tired you are because you’re used to it. Then you get a blood transfusion, and you get all this energy, and you’re ready to work. It’s a night and day difference.” 

On the brighter side, Rossi shares how having sickle cell disease inspired him to become a comedian at a local comedy club.  

“I was kind of isolated a little bit. I missed a lot of stuff, so I felt like that was a good way to meet people,” said Rossi.  

To his surprise, Rossi’s Lowcountry comedy family rallied around him and arranged a benefit show to help pay for his upcoming hip replacement—another complication resulting from sickle cell. The benefit show sold out with attendees across South Carolina and beyond.  

Community support can be a lifeline for sickle cell warriors. Rossi found community in comedy and with fellow warriors.  

“We meet bimonthly,” Rossi says of his support group. “We’d go talk about issues. Sometimes we would go get gifts and give them to kids in the hospital. We would go out to eat. It’s a very supportive group.” 

As a sickle cell warrior, Rossi’s story is one of many. In the United States, an estimated 100,000 people have sickle cell disease, with the majority being of African descent. Many individuals who are Black have distinct protein structures on their red blood cells that make their donations the most compatible to help patients with sickle cell disease.  

This Sickle Cell Awareness Month, the American Red Cross is raising awareness about the disease to increase the number of blood donations, especially from individuals of the Black community. Your blood donation can help save lives and give hope to individuals like Rossi. Make an appointment at redcrossblood.org today.