The Baltimore region?s blood supply hit an annual low as donors recover from the holidays and get back to work.
“There is no substitution for blood,” said Red Cross Chief Executive Officer Gary Ouellette during an appeal from Central Maryland?s blood services division in Baltimore on Monday. “It?s not manufactured in a lab, it?s given by people.”
Blood donations are typically slow in January, he said, but the need picks up with elective surgeries back on the schedule.
Types O and B are particularly low, said Mayor-designate Sheila Dixon, which disproportionately affects Blacks. “We know that 75 percent of African-Americans are type O or B.”
Blacks are also more prone to sickle cell disease, which attacks red blood cells.
In the United States, sickle cell disease occurs in about one in every 600 black births and one in every 1,000 to 1,400 Hispanic-American births, according to the National Institutes of Health Web site. About 2 million Americans have the sickle cell trait, which can lead to the disease. About 1 in 12 blacks has the genetic trait.
Sammy Cohen, 7, of Baltimore said she needs regular transfusions.
“I need you because I want to be something great someday, like the first female, African-American president,” she said.
Since diagnosed as stroke-susceptible at age 2, Sammy had biweekly blood transfusions to keep her alive. Now she gets blood every six weeks.
“I just want to thank those who donate blood,” said her mother, Kelleye Cohen. “Without you, Sammy wouldn?t be here.”
Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein called blood donation “a very thin red line that connects a lot of people in the community.”
“It affects premature babies that require blood donation in order to live. It affects trauma victims who need blood donation in order not to die. If affects cancer victims who require very toxic therapies in order to fight cancer, then the blood rejuvenates them.
“As a physician, it?s a very horrible moment when you think that blood may not be available.”
» To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call 800-GIVE-LIFE.
