“My daughter could have a stroke if she does not get the blood she needs.” You can hear the fear in her voice as a Georgia mom and founder of MTS Sickle Cell Foundation, Mapillar Dahn, speaks about the need for everyone in good health to donate blood during the severe shortage caused by COVID 19.
One of her three daughters, fourteen year old Khadeejah Tyler, has been on monthly blood transfusions since the age of seven, when she had a stroke due to sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects about 100,000 Americans, of which the great majority are of African descent.
“The last 7 years have not been easy. Since her stroke, Deej has had about 10 surgeries and countless hospital stays. But one thing that we’ve been successful at is preventing another stroke and that is because of the monthly blood transfusions she receives.”
The coronavirus outbreak has forced cancelations of blood drives and continues to negatively impact the blood supply, thereby endangering the lives of sickle cell, cancer, and leukemia patients as well as those needing lifesaving surgeries.
“We have already seen a significant decrease in donations as the outbreak progresses and are facing a critical public health risk if the blood supply continues to decline,” said LifeSouth’s Vice President of Medical Services Dr. Chris Lough.
Locally, over 100 blood drives have been cancelled by LifeSouth. Those cancelled drives would have added over 2,000 units of blood products to the blood supply. Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S.
Because of the shortage, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has had to change how they distribute the little supply that they do have.
“The hospital reached out to me yesterday to inform me that starting next month, due to the shortage in the blood supply, all apheresis patients will have to go to simple blood transfusions,” wrote Mapillar on Friday morning in a Facebook post that urged her followers to consider donating blood.
Today is Deej's last apheresis for the unforeseeable future. The hospital reached out to me yesterday to inform me that…
Posted by MTS Sickle Cell Foundation, Inc. on Friday, March 20, 2020
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is taking steps to combat the blood shortage crisis by partnering with LifeSouth to run blood drives at all of their campuses that will exclusively benefit their patients.
“We are so grateful to all those who are donating during these uncertain time. Patients like Deej will need anywhere from 50 to 100 pints of blood a year. Your donation means the world to not just our family, but all those needing blood services to maintain a good quality of life,” said Mapillar in response to over 100 donors attending the blood drive at CHOA’s Scottish Rite campus.
The FDA has reiterated that there have been no reported or suspected cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus and the virus poses no known risk to patients receiving blood transfusions.
“We need every healthy adult to donate because it is absolutely needed at this time. I want to add a personal plea to those of African descent to please donate because my daughter, and the majority of sickle cell patients who rely on chronic transfusions, is more likely to receive the donation of a person of African descent,” said Mapillar.
That is because genetically-similar blood is preferred for those who need repeated blood transfusions to prevent the likelihood of the blood being rejected by the patient.
To find a blood drive near you or for more information about hosting a blood drive, Georgia, Alabama, or Florida residents can contact LifeSouth Community Blood Centers at www.lifesouth.org or call 888-795-2707.
Residents can also visit The Red Cross at www.redcrossblood.org to find information about drives happening near them. For those interested in donating specifically for the sickle cell population, be sure to label your donation a blue tag donation as these are designated for sickle cell patients in your area.
