Be a Sickle Cell Fighter and Help Save Lives During Red Cross Sickle Cell Blood Drive
Written by Isabel Anderson, Cascades Regional Communications Manager
This month is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to become abnormally shaped which can block blood flow and cause excruciating pain.
Every year, the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation of Oregon hosts a walk and blood drive to raise awareness. Jarvis Hall is a familiar face at these events. He is a board member for the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation of Oregon. His mother and uncle had sickle cell anemia and he witnessed the pain and destruction it brought to them. Knowing the impact this disease can have on the lives of those living with it and their surrounding loved ones, Jarvis is an avid sickle cell anemia advocate.
He strongly encourages anyone who can donate blood to, “give and give again and then give again and when you’re tired of giving give one more time and then another time after that.”
This weekend, the Red Cross will be hosting a sickle cell anemia blood drive on September 21st from 7:30am to 1pm. Visit redcrossblood.org to book a time to come in and donate blood. You can make a change.