A community blood supply should reflect the communities it serves, and our communities are rich in cultural and ethnic diversity. Unfortunately, the current blood donor base in the United States does not fully reflect our diverse populations. For example, of the 5% of healthy Americans that choose to donate blood nationally, only 1% are African-Americans.

Why is diversity among volunteer blood donors so important?

For several reasons. First, some rare blood types are found only in minority communities. In addition to the common ABO blood types, extremely rare antigens such as Duffy- and U- are found exclusively in the African-American population.

Secondly, higher frequencies of types O and B blood are found in the African-American community, and it is these blood types that the Red Cross runs low on most frequently.

The Mid-Atlantic Region also has a large demand for red blood cells that are phenotypically matched for Rh, K, S and Fya or Fyb antigens. These special red blood cells are used to treat sickle cell anemia patients who must receive frequent blood transfusions.

What is sickle cell disease?

Sickle cell anemia is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Normal red blood cells become hard, sticky and shaped like a sickle. These hard and pointed red cells can clog the flow of blood and break apart. Symptoms of sickle cell anemia can begin as early as six months of age, and can manifest anemia, severe pain, infections of the blood, lungs, or bones and stroke. Persons with the gene may pass it on to their children. Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people nationwide. It is found in 1 in 400 African-Americans in the United States.

Blood donors play a vital role in the treatment of sickle cell disease. Treatment can involve blood transfusions. With repeated transfusions, the body can come to see the proteins, or antigens, present in donated blood as foreign bodies. This can lead to a "rejection" reaction, just as an organ transplant can be rejected by a recipient. If a patient with sickle cell disease can be transfused with closely matched antigens that are often found in the minority population, there is a decreased chance of rejection.

The Mid-Atlantic Region is devoted to the awareness, education and recruitment of blood donors from all cultural and ethnic background.

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