Education | African American Advisory Council

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center African American Advisory Council is a seven-member, all-volunteer committee of community and business leaders, working to raise awareness about the need for African American blood donors and the importance of blood donations. Since its inception in 1994, the Council has successfully identified leaders in the community and opened doors for the blood program.

The group meets regularly and organizes an annual blood drive every fall in memory of Stephen and Cherie Anders, siblings and local residents who died at 33 and 38, respectively, of sickle cell anemia. This drive is important not only because it draws media attention to the cause, but it also attracts new donors and serves as a catalyst for other community groups to host blood drives targeting African Americans. In order to monitor the success of their efforts, the Council tracks the number of African American blood donors with a race question at the beginning of the registration process. The Council uses this question for the sole purpose of measuring the effectiveness of their outreach efforts.

Hope, It's Yours to Give Video
Sickle cell anemia is a painful blood disease that frequently requires blood transfusions. One in 500 African Americans born each year in the United States is afflicted with sickle cell. Our video, Hope, It’s Yours to Give, explains in detail the debilitating symptoms associated with the disease, examines the hereditary aspects of sickle cell anemia, provides information on early detection and treatment, and discusses the impact blood donation has in helping sickle cell patients. Original music is performed by legendary Blues musician, Bobby Rush, who shares his personal story dealing with the disease.