work for the Red Cross. I saw it as a divine path. When it was time for me to look for a position after finishing my fellowship, I contacted Dr. Davey and spoke with him about opportunities to work for the Red Cross, and he said, “Come see me, they’ll be opportunities in the Red Cross..” I ended up taking my first position with the American Red Cross in Michigan in 1996, and I owe so much to Dr. Davey. He was such a great mentor to me. I actually consider him to be a friend as well as a mentor now.
Since joining the Red Cross it has been part of my life’s mission to increase blood donations by African Americans by working with diverse organizations to get that message out about the importance of blood donation. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood and the only source of blood are volunteer donors. African Americans play a critical role in meeting the general blood donor needs, but specifically the importance of donating blood to meet the transfusion needs of those battling sickle cell disease.
Individuals with sickle cell disease – the vast majority of which are Black – can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lifetime to treat complications of the disease. Unfortunately, frequent transfusions can make finding compatible blood types more difficult when patients develop an immune response against blood from donors that is not closely matched to the blood of the recipient. Many individuals who are Black have unique structures on their red blood cells that make their donations the most compatible blood to help patients with sickle cell disease. In fact, blood donors who are Black are almost 3 times more likely to be a match for people with sickle cell disease.
The trajectory of my whole career with the Red Cross has been advocating on behalf of patients with sickle cell disease and not just around blood transfusion. They have a great number of needs in relation to accessing health care to ensuring that their families are taken care of.
You just spoke about the importance of advocating. How has your role at the Red Cross progressed since you first started? How has the outlook for Black patients changed for the better?
When I first joined Red Cross, my primary job was to work with the recruitment team to ensure that we had organizations that were Black and focused on diversity to schedule blood drives. Now things have progressed over time. The Red Cross has really devoted talent and resources to partnering with diverse communities. It can take a lot more time to engage diverse communities because there are multiple competing priorities for resources in the Black community. While donating blood certainly is important to the Black community, like it is for other communities, we have to understand that blood donation is important, but it might not be at the top of that list of the use of resources.
You gave a brief overview of your work and what you do, but I was wondering if you can walk me through what a typical day on the job would be like for you.
One of the first things that I do is determine donor eligibility. We do have processes and procedures in place to ensure the eligibility of blood donors. If a blood donor has a disease or is taking a medication that’s not listed, then the staff calls me or one of my other partners and we determine whether that donor is eligible. We also determine blood products suitability. For example, a person donates a blood product and then when they get home they’re not feeling well. The donor will notify our staff, and I determine whether that blood product is suitable for transfusion and whether that donor is still eligible to donate. In addition, I also conduct educational outreach. I would say about 25 to 30% of my time is spent doing presentations, outreach, interviews like this and working with our partners. The remainder of my time is spent with the sickle cell initiative, supporting partners, supporting the staff and educating our staff internally on why the initiative is important.
What would you say is the most difficult and the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is that when I look at the data, I see that we continue to invite, encourage and support people who are Black and of African American descent to donate blood. I see those numbers increasing all the time. We have a monthly report that I watch closely and every single month that report comes out, I see the strides that we continue to make. Some of the most challenging work that I do with the American Red Cross is getting the message out about health disparities and inequities in relation to patients with sickle cell disease in Black and diverse communities.
In general, one of the things that was uncovered for the world to see during the pandemic is how the Black community and diverse communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. These communities are disproportionately affected by all diseases, particularly hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. We see that diverse communities have been underserved and under-resourced. Even though it’s challenging, it is also very rewarding because we are at a pivotal time in this country where we’re having conversations around race and ethnicity and health disparities. It’s a conversation that’s been had in every sector and I am so privileged to be a voice of advocacy for Black and diverse communities in this work.
As you mentioned more conversations are being had about the different health disparities that affect the Black community. Where do you think the future of sickle cell disease is headed? Is there anything that you’ve seen in your work that points to what the future may look like?
I am so incredibly encouraged about meeting the healthcare needs of patients with sickle cell disease. About two years ago, researchers started a research initiative where they’re using the gene-editing tool to manipulate the gene that causes sickle cell to insert a normal gene that allows the body to make normal red cells that do not sickle. The research has shown it to be successful.
I’m also so encouraged that pharmaceutical companies are developing more medications for the treatment of sickle cell disease. From 1998 to 2017, there was a single drug on the market to target patients with sickle cell disease. Now there are several drugs on the market that are used to treat patients with sickle cell disease.
Another thing that the Red Cross has an important part to play in is that it is becoming easier to