BDO sat down with Ashley Singleton, a research associate at Georgia Health Policy Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She shares the truth about sickle cell blood donation and donating blood in the Black community.
BDO: Does Sickle Cell run in your family at all?
Ashley Singleton: No, not in my family, but I do have a really close, you know everyone has auntie, so I have an “auntie” who isn’t really my aunt and my cousin who has sickle cell disease.
So when I was growing up I knew Vanessa was in and out of the hospital but I didn’t really understand what was going on.
So when I started working on this project which is all related to minority blood donations and blood transfusions, I called my mom the same day I was working on the project and I said Mom did aunt Jackie ever ask you to donate blood?
She said, “no but if she would’ve asked me I would’ve done it.” And I think that’s what we see and what we find a lot of times is that people just don’t know.
They don’t know it is necessary.
It’s necessary not only under the circumstances of a natural disaster or a car accident. It’s needed every single day for people like sickle cell patients. Or even those who have other um blood disorders like Thalassemia.
BDO: Why is it important for African Americans to start donating blood?
Ashley Singleton: The reason why it’s important now that African Americans donate blood is that people of the same ethnic groups are more likely to have matched blood.
So, similar to say you have an organ donation, so you have an organ and it does really match your body will reject it. Same thing for blood. If the blood isn’t matched on more than just your blood type, in different layers, different levels then it could possibly be rejected. Or it can cause terrible issues with the function of your lungs, function of your heart, or other various serious issues.
Screen: How often should a person consider donating blood?
First let me say, it’s best to check with each local blood center.
Every blood center has different requirements for if you can donate blood. If you’ve had a tattoo or traveled out of the country, the requirements may be different.
Every blood center has something slightly different, so it’s always best to check your local blood center.
But a person can donate blood up to every 60 days with their blood center. But again just double just with your blood center to make sure that your eligibility to participate.
A lot of times people will think they cannot donate blood because they have diabetes. Or maybe they have high blood pressure which is a common illness in the African American community.
If those things are regulated and monitored accordingly those people can still donate blood. So, there are ways that you can donate, maybe you feel like you can’t donate.
One really big issue that we see in the black community is that sometimes people try to donate blood and then they’re deferred, meaning that they are turned away or told by a blood center that they can’t do it.
A lot of times those deferrals are temporary but people don’t realize that. Maybe their iron is low, maybe they skipped breakfast or didn’t have enough vegetables the week before and the iron levels are a little low.
So it’s always recommended that if someone is deferred temporarily, for low iron, for example, to go to their doctor what the issue may be with their iron and always come back and try again.
BDO: What does a patient who needs a blood transfusion go through?
Ashley Singleton: So let me also preface that by saying that it’s always important for sickle cell patients to talk to their hematologist or primary care physician. They have to make sure they have medically accurate information about blood transfusions. A lot of times people get these blood transfusions but they don’t really have a conversation with their doctors. So this thing is kind of happening to them with all the information.
And then sometimes providers don’t sit down and talk with their patients. It’s really important before anybody has a blood transfusion to talk to their provider ask them important questions, “what does a blood transfusion mean?” “What blood types do I have?” “Do I have antibodies in my blood? If so, what type?”
Learn that information from the provider and record that information however you like to record it. Use a sheet of paper or document it in a mobile app. It’s really important that each time a patient receives a blood transfusion that they track their medical history and keep it close to them.
BDO: What kind of information do you receive when you are donating blood?
Ashley Singleton: So, most blood centers will at the very least tell you your blood type.
If you have universal blood types like type O blood, they get really excited about that. That’s the type of blood they want. They will reach out to you and let you know your blood type. They will also let you know how important it is for you to donate regularly.
Most blood centers will at least tell you your blood type. Screen: How can I find the best places to donate blood? There are some of your bigger blood centers, like the American Red Cross. But every community has local blood centers or smaller blood centers. You can always google to find what’s available in your state.