Story told by Amy Thomas, Red Cross Volunteer

June 19th is World Sickle Cell Awareness Day— a time to honor those battling Sickle Cell Disease and a call to action for new and long-time American Red Cross blood donors alike. For the 1 in 365 Black and African Americans born with Sickle Cell disease, blood donations are vital to their ability to survive.

From pain to organ failure, those with Sickle Cell face serious medical complications due to an inherited gene that creates sickle-shaped red blood cells, causing difficulty in navigating through small blood vessels. Due to this, Sickle Cell patients can require up to 100, or in some cases more, blood transfusions each year. These transfusions rely heavily on donors with CEK-negative antigens, which provides the best match for those fighting Sickle Cell Disease. While there is currently no cure for Sickle Cell, many of these symptoms can be alleviated, at least temporarily, by these blood transfusions from CEK-negative blood.

These life-saving blood transfusions are possible thanks to dedicated donors. From donors with CEK-negative blood to those with O-negative blood, the universal blood type in high demand and low supply, donors impact the lives around them with every unit they donate.

To increase the availability of close-matching blood for sickle cell patients, the Red Cross launched the Sickle Cell Initiative in 2021, hoping to encourage more blood donors who are Black to donate and help those with Sickle Cell Disease. 1 in 3 African-American donors is a match for Sickle Cell patients. Since the initiative’s launch in 2021, the Red Cross has seen a 60% increase in first-time African-American blood donors.

Following that exciting step forward, blood donor Pamela Reeves—who has donated over 120 units of blood—recently found out that her blood is CEK-negative. Having CEK-negative blood makes a donor an ideal match for patients with sickle cell. While already having an in-demand blood type for emergencies and a low supply in blood banks, O-negative blood, Pamela was excited and shocked to hear that her blood is helpful for another lifesaving reason.

“I was stunned when they told me. I’d love to learn more about what I [my blood] has in it and how it is used,” said Pamela when asked how she felt after learning she was CEK-negative earlier this year.

While this revelation hasn’t changed why she donates blood or how frequently Pamela will continue donating at regular intervals, it has reinforced her advice for new donors: “If someone is thinking about doing it [donating blood with the Red Cross], think of others. [To think of] what you could do to save one life or more with each donation.”

When asked what inspired her to become a donor with the Red Cross, Pamela shared a bit about her life and why blood donation has become a family tradition.

“My father always donated blood when I was growing up. I remember him getting pins for various milestones of units donated,” recalled Pamela. “I always like to say it was him that made me become a donor, but it wasn’t until the early 1970s, when a young neighbor was involved in a motorcycle accident and needed emergency blood donation, that I began donating,”

After that first blood donation, Pamela was informed she had O-negative blood, making her more determined to donate regularly. Eventually, she began researching what O-negative blood would mean for her future children and later encouraged them to donate. An encouragement that later led to a family tradition of donating blood and a mother-daughter tradition of donating blood each July in honor of her husband’s heart-transplant anniversary.

Since becoming a donor, Pamela has focused on what her donations mean to others and how it has positively impacted her life to know she was saving the lives of others with a simple process every few months. Donors like Pamela are beacons of hope for patients in need.

If you'd like to learn more about Sickle Cell and how your blood donations make an impact, visit: redcrossblood.org/ourblood