South Jersey Chapter of Jack and Jill teams up with American Red Cross for sickle cell disease blood drive
There will be a blood drive for sickle cell disease this weekend in South Jersey to mark the beginning of Black History Month. Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder.
Treatments depend on donations from Black people and there's a big push to increase those donations, that will help thousands of families, including one in Montgomery County.
It's a rush to get to work for Qamra Williams and her 13-year-old son Cameron, who live in Horsham.
Cameron is in 7th grade and Williams is in graduate school, and yes, they're big Eagles fans. The seventh grader admires athletes and is one himself.
"I play basketball, football and I run track for my school," he said.
He also has sickle cell disease, a blood disorder that mainly impacts Black people
"[It's] really painful and like you couldn't do I couldn't do a lot of stuff I wanted to do," he said.
It's been a special challenge for Williams, who's a nurse.
"So I see it often, but it's a different level of pain when it's your child," she said.
The main treatment for sickle cell is blood transfusions.
"Blood donors who are Black or African American are almost three times more likely to be a match," said Denise Anderson who works for the American Red Cross.
Anderson said there are special blood drives aimed at getting more Black donors.
"It's estimated that individuals with sickle cell disease may require as many as 100 units of blood annually, and that's why the blood donations is key," she said.
Williams will be part of a sickle cell blood drive in South Jersey on Feb. 1 – the beginning of Black History Month. The event is co-sponsored by the Red Cross and the South Jersey Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, an organization that empowers Black youth.
"I am very proud of my Sister Moms from the South Jersey chapter for bringing the awareness," Williams said. "It is not often that we even get this type of platform to talk about sickle cell or the African American community."
It's about ensuring treatments for her son and others aiming to ease the difficulties sickle cell patients face.
"We go a little extra to keep him safe and warm and to be as normal as possible," Williams said.
The blood drive on Saturday is in Washington Township.