Quad Cities (KWQC) - People across the country are finding many ways to give back today on Martin Luther King day.
The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center held a MLK Day blood drive on Monday in Davenport. (KWQC)
One of the ways people gave back on Monday was by donating blood. The holiday is also a remembrance of King’s activism for African Americans.
According to medical experts, approximately eight percent of African Americans are affected by sickle cell disease.
Treatment for it requires several blood transfusions over a life-time and there is no cure.
The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center held a blood drive for the MLK holiday.
Donors like Deborah Gass came in to donate blood as a way to give back.
“It’s very simple if you’re not afraid of needles,” Gass said.
A number of blood donations go toward patients with sickle cell disease.
The blood center’s Public Relations Manager, Kirby Winn, said the disease is common amongst the African American community.
“On a day that is celebrated and particularly within the African American community it’s a time to remember that sickle cell disease is one of the reasons blood is transfused,” Winn said.
Winn said the disease is inherited genetically.
“Blood transfusions of red blood cells is a helpful way to help patients with sickle cell disease manage a crisis and feel better.”
Treatment for sickle cell goes beyond requiring a particular blood type.
“There are other factors that influence blood type compatibility,” Winn said. “There are antigens and proteins in blood that are inherited by all of us genetically from our family line. While doctors can infuse blood across races, it’s most important for a recipient of a blood transfusion to have that unit of blood that’s a close match.”
Many blood centers fall behind in donations in January due to extreme winter weather conditions. That makes blood supply that much more scarce for patients like those with sickle cell disease.
The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center said it has fallen behind by 300 donations over the past weekend.
The snow and ice has stopped many donors from coming in, but hospitals never stop needing more blood supply for patients.
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January 21, 2020 at 11:40AM
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Quad Citians give back on MLK Day by donating blood - KWQC-TV6
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