LAURINBURG — Emerson Veler, a local volunteer for the American Red Cross, knows how important it is for folks to donate their blood. Especially those residents of color because of a critical need for those patients with sickle cell anemia.

“People of African descent have some unique blood cells and patients that require frequent transfusions require closely matched blood to reduce the chance of rejection,” he said in an email to The Exchange. “Sickle cell disease affects 100,000 Americans (and) according to the Centers for Disease Control, it affects one out of every 365 African American births, which is 73% of all cases.”

In addition, for some children with sickle cell disease, growing up means receiving blood transfusions about once per month to survive.

Also, in screening 250 units of blood from white donors, they will find only one match for someone with sickle cell disease, whereas from donors of African descent, there will be 28 matches.

The statistics emphasize the need.

Eight to 10% of blacks have the sickle cell trait, which means they have inherited the sickle cell gene from one of their parents, and many people with sickle cell trait are unaware of their status. The sickle cell trait is inherited and means that an individual received one sickle cell gene and one normal gene from their parents.

“It is important to note, that carrying the sickle cell trait does not mean that an individual has sickle cell disease,” Veler wrote. “Many individuals who carry the sickle cell trait have no medical problems related to sickle cell trait.”

The Red Cross has expanded its testing to include sickle cell trait screening on all donations from self-identified Americans of African descent. In addition to providing the results to the donors, this screening helps the Red Cross identify compatible blood types to help sickle cell patients more quickly.

Donors can expect to receive the results of their sickle cell trait screening within one to two weeks through our Red Cross Blood Donor App or on our donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org. This will provide the quickest access to test results. If a donor has questions or issues with the Blood Donor App or portal functionality, they can call 855-210-1278. If a donor does not have internet service, they may call the Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center 14 days after donation at 1-866-236-3276 to obtain their results. Those who have positive results will also receive a letter in the mail.

“I’ve been a Red Cross volunteer for 12 years, but just recently got involved in blood drives,” Veler said. “I had heard of sickle cell disease before but was not aware of how devastating it was to those suffering from it and to their families.

“As a parent and grandparent, nothing is more painful to me than when one of my children is hurting and I want to do all I can to help others parents avoid or reduce their pain,” he added.

Blood drive set

Bright Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church will sponsor a blood drive in its fellowship hall on Monday, May 17, from noon until 4:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, go online to redcrossblood.org and enter Sponsor: Bright Hopewell — or call Veler at 910-276-3044. The blood drive is open to all residents.

”We do need more organizations to sponsor blood drives,” Veler said. “The Red Cross provides everything for the drives except the donors. Please visit redcrossblood.org/hosting a blood drive or call me to discuss if you are interested.”

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.