By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
As World Blood Donor Day on June 14 approaches, it’s important to recognize the contributions of volunteer blood donors, how they are saving lives worldwide and raise awareness about the need for more, particularly in the Black community.
Blood is needed for persons who are accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, individuals receiving treatment for cancer or sickle cell disease and more.
“There is a constant need for all blood types, but the demand is often higher for types O and B blood,” said Scott Marder, regional communications manager for the National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region of American Red Cross. “Black populations have a higher frequency of type O blood than White populations. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type. Type O negative is the universal blood type, which can be transfused to patients of any other blood type and is routinely in short supply.”
Beyond this, Marder said there are more than 300 known antigens for red blood cells and some are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups.
“People who have sickle cell disease and these blood types often receive the most compatible blood from donors in the Black community,” said Marder.
Dr. Daniela Hermelin, chief medical officer for ImpactLife and an assistant professor of pathology at St. Louis University School of Medicine, said sickle cell disease is the most common hereditary blood disorder and currently affects more than 100,000 Americans, of whom are predominantly Black.
“The disease, which is present at birth, causes the production of an abnormal hemoglobin which is located in all red blood cells,” said Hermelin. “In sickle cell disease, the abnormal hemoglobin can cause the red blood cells to change from a round flexible shape to a ‘C’ or ‘sickle shape.’”
Hermelin said when that happens the sickle red cells can get stuck in the blood vessels and block blood flow. That can lead to a number of complications such as strokes, difficulty breathing, pain crisis and premature death.
“Although there are no standard treatments for sickle cell disease, blood transfusions are a cornerstone of supportive care, helping to manage complications such as anemia, stroke and acute chest syndrome,” said Hermelin. “Since sickle cell disease patients may receive multiple transfusions throughout their lifetime, it is imperative that we provide appropriately matched units of blood.”
Blood compatibility is not based on race, but there are certain rare blood types that are more generally found in Black donors, said Hermelin. For patients with sickle cell disease, blood donors who are Black are nearly three times more likely to be a match, compared with donors who are not African-American.
“The need for blood is constant,” said Marder. “Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, and a single blood donation can help save more than one life.”
Marder said each day, the American Red Cross hosts around 500 blood drives around the country to help ensure blood products are available whenever and wherever they are needed. In particular, they provide around 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply, including to approximately 60 hospitals in the Baltimore-Washington area.
But the need for donors, and particularly, Black donors is worldwide.
Currently, African countries collect only 5.2 units of blood for every 1,000 people, which is below the more than 10 donations per 1,000 people recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is also far from the 31.5 donations in high-income countries, 16.4 donations in upper-middle-income countries and 6.6 donations in lower-middle-income countries.
According to the NHS, for people to get the best treatment they need blood that closely matches theirs, yet only 2 percent of current blood donors are of African heritage, which is about 19,300 people in the United Kingdom. Black heritage donors are ten times more likely to have the Ro blood type, which is urgently needed to treat 15,000 people in the United Kingdom with sickle cell.
On June 9, the NHS called for 1 million people in England to give blood to help stabilize the national blood supply. A recent NHS Blood and Transplant analysis found an annual shortfall of more than 200,000 donors needed to meet growing demands in the country.
Experts say the challenges to increasing the rate of participation include historical mistrust in the medical system, poor outreach, a lack of awareness and ineligibility issues.
But organizations such as the American Red Cross and ImpactLife are working to close those gaps by ensuring accurate information is being passed along to potential donors and partnering with local schools, businesses, churches and more.
Individuals interested in donating blood should go to RedCrossBlood.org to locate the nearest donation center or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).