- Myth: I can’t donate if I have tattoos.
- Myth: I can’t donate if I got a piercing recently.
- Myth: I can’t donate if I’ve just been to the dentist.
- Myth: Blood can be manufactured.
- Myth: Blood donation is painful.
- Myth: Blood is only needed in times of emergency.
- Myth: Donating blood causes my body to start over producing blood cells.
- Myth: Donating blood makes you gain weight.
- Myth: Donating blood takes a long time.
- Myth: Donating blood will impact my ability to do my daily activities.
- Myth: Giving blood will harm me by taking away red cells or platelets that my body needs to function.
- Myth: I can catch an infectious disease by donating blood.
- Myth: I have a common blood type, so you don’t need my blood.
- Myth: Donating blood can harm my immune system.
- Myth: Other people are already giving enough blood.
- Myth: Vegetarians or vegans cannot donate blood.
- Myth: I cannot donate blood because I have diabetes.
- Myth: I can’t donate if I’ve had low hemoglobin (iron) levels in the past.
- Myth: I must make an appointment to donate blood.
- Myth: I should fast before I donate.
- Who can give blood?
- Where does my blood go?
- Which patients use what blood components?
- What types of photo ID are accepted?
- What tests are performed on blood?
- What is vCJD?
- What happens when somebody tests positive for an infectious disease marker?
- What can I eat to raise my hemoglobin levels?
- Is it safe to receive blood transfusions?
- I don’t have sickle cell anemia, but I carry the trait. Can I still give blood?
- How will I feel after I give blood?
- How often can I give blood?
- How much blood is taken?
- How long does it take?
- Can I give blood for myself?
- When was Carter BloodCare founded?
- Can people with high blood pressure donate blood?
- Can people who have tested positive for HIV or AIDS donate blood?
- Can gay or bi-sexual men donate blood?
- What is Apheresis?
- How long can blood be stored?
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)
What is the link between donor diversity and safe, compatible blood transfusions?
Transfusion support for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is central to understanding this link. SCD is an inherited blood disorder affecting the red blood cells.
Patients with SCD can require monthly blood transfusions for life, beginning in childhood. Each transfusion could require one to 10 units of red blood cells, depending on the patient’s age and size. Ideally, the blood is less than seven days old to maximize the lifespan of the healthy red cells. Most SCD patients in the U.S. are Black/African American, but the disease also occurs in people of Latin American, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern heritage, too.
Compatible blood for SCD patient support is much more likely found among blood donors who share their race or ethnicity. It is essential that Black/African American donors are well represented among the volunteer donors with Carter BloodCare, if SCD patients and their physicians can be confident there will be compatible blood available for them.
Testing blood beyond groups A, B and O
Medical Director Dr. William Crews explains there are more blood groups than just A, B and O types. Among additional subgroups is where blood centers find the most compatible match for SCD patients and others requiring a complex match.
1 in 3 Black/African American blood donors are a match for a sickle cell patient.
More than 100,000 Americans have sickle cell disease.
Blood transfusions are a lifeline for sickle cell patients.
Importance of R0 to people with sickle cell disease
R0 donors are in demand to help patients living with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that causes distorted, sickle-shaped red cells. These blood cells cannot properly transport oxygen throughout the body, which can cause anemia.
About 100,000 Americans have sickle cell disease (SCD). Black/African American people make up 90% of the U.S. population with SCD; people of Hispanic, South Asian, Southern European and Middle Eastern ancestry are also impacted by SCD.