By Paige Zulandt

Tena Wheat-Crump is the oldest of six, a proud grandmother and she recently celebrated her 70^th birthday. This year’s milestone birthday had her thinking back to 10 years ago on her 60^th, when her brother Terry came to help her set up for the party.

“One funny thing that sticks out in my mind is I would say ‘we got to get these buns, we got to get this meat on the sliders’ and he kept saying ‘Tena, those are just little sandwiches,’” Tena recalls. As she prepared this year, she couldn’t help but smile as she thought about Terry and the little sandwiches.

Sadly, Terry passed away on July 2 this year due to complications of sickle cell anemia.

“He lived to be 67 years old, and that is far longer than most people live with sickle cell,” Tena says. She said she is content knowing he is no longer in pain.

“I know how much pain he was in, and I know how much pain he is not in now,” Tena shares. She recalled having to help him get from room to room as a kid because he was in too much pain to walk.

Sickle cell disease distorts soft and round red blood cells and turns them hard and crescent-shaped. As a result, blood has difficulty flowing smoothly and carrying oxygen to the rest of the body. This can lead to severe pain, tissue and organ damage, anemia and even strokes.

Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic blood disorder in the U.S., and regular blood transfusions are critical to managing extreme pain. That’s why Tena is making it her mission to encourage more people to donate blood.

“I think that people need to realize that the only treatment is blood transfusions,” Tena says. “And that we need to get more people donating, more black and brown people donating, that are compatible to people with sickle cell.”

Blood donors who are Black are almost three times more likely to be a match for patients with sickle cell disease. The need for frequent transfusions can make finding compatible blood types more difficult when patients develop an immune response against blood from donors that are not closely matched.

Tena wants to remind potential donors of the pain her brother endured throughout his life, and that by simply donating blood, “you could save a life.”

And if you sign up to donate blood at the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross of Tennessee in Memphis, you might even run into Tena herself. Tena is a Blood Donor Ambassador at the chapter and signs donors in for their appointments.

“I enjoy being an ambassador,” Tena shares. “It’s neat because you get to see people over and over again,” as they become regular donors.

Tena hopes that more people will become regulars that she gets to greet, as this means more blood will be available to help those who need it, including sickle cell patients like Terry.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment to donate blood, visit RedCrossBlood.org.