it was [my] responsibility so that when I’m up and when I’m well, when I’m not feeling fatigued and things like, that I really try to take every opportunity that I can get to speak up and advocate on behalf of all of us,” Smith shares.
She does so through her, Sick of It Foundation, which she co-founded with her brother, Jarren.
The advice she gives fellow sickle cell warriors and caregivers is that, “education and faith are key.”
“It takes a lot of faith honestly because times have been very, very dark, very confusing,” Smith recalls thinking back to her parents raising two children experiencing sickle cell in different ways. “A lot of education has gone into our journey, but also a lot of faith.”
RELATED: 5 Signs That You Should Get Tested For The Sickle Cell Trait
How you can “get in the ring”
For parents of sickle cell warriors, it will be important to pass the knowledge down to your children.
“If you have to break it down to a level where they can understand it, just make sure they understand what is going on in their bodies. Have conversations with them,” Smith adds.
She also hopes others will “get in the ring” with sickle cell warriors.
“While we fight for ourselves, it’s really great to have a community with us to fight with us,” Smith says.
She also encourages people to get tested for the sickle cell trait. “Please do so and be very intentional with family planning because we do want to break the cycle,” Smith concludes.
According to the American Red Cross, “It’s estimated that 1 in 13 Black or African American babies in the U.S. is born with sickle cell trait.” However, many individuals are unaware that they carry this trait because they were never tested.
Sickle cell trait screening is available for self-identified African American Red Cross blood donors and results are available within one to two weeks of their donation through the Red Cross Blood Donor App and the online donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org.
Additionally, it is also important that more Black people donate blood because they have unique structures on their red blood cells that aren’t often found in other donor populations, making them almost 3 times more likely to be a match for patients with sickle cell disease than donors who are not Black or African American.
What’s more, 51% of individuals who are Black have type O (positive or negative), which is needed most by hospitals.
“We need Black people to donate just to ensure that we have enough group O blood on the shelves to meet all the transfusion needs of the general population. We need group O blood particularly when there’s an emergency and you don’t know the specific blood type of a recipient,” says Dr. Yvette Marie Miller, the executive medical officer for the American Red Cross Donor and Client Support Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
But even if you don’t have type O blood, donating blood can be beneficial for a sickle cell warrior.
For more information on donating blood, visit Joined by Blood.