upcoming blood drives 

9/14: African American Museum, Cedar Rapids IA 9/17: Mason-Clark Middle School  9/27: Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. - Nu Chi Chapter  9/23-10/13: Fairview Heights Donor Center

Spread the Word: Sickle Cell Awareness Toolkit

red4Life program

Any donor who selects African American and other ethnicities of African, Latin or South American decent; Asian and South Pacific Islanders in our screening questionnaire has the potential to join our Red4Life Sickle Cell Program. For those donors, our donor services team will collect an additional tube at their donation so that our reference lab can run additional tests to see if they are a match to help sickle cell patients. Then, you will receive communication from us that denotes that if you are a match.

If you qualify for our Red4Life Program, you will earn 800 BONUS POINTS* when you donate any procedure 4 times (or donate double red cells 3 times) in the same calendar year.

Schedule Donation Now   

Even if you are not a match for our Red4Life sickle cell program, your donations are still needed and you can earn points in many ways! Learn more about the Donor for Life Points Rewards Program.

Questions? Give us a call at 800-747-5401 or email hello@impactlife.org.

Did you know?

  • Sickle cell disease is the most common hereditary disorder and currently affects more than 100,000 Americans, predominantly people of African, Middle Eastern, Grecian, Indian, and Latin American descent. Reference
     
  • Sickle cell disease is estimated to occur in 1 of every 365 black or African-American births and 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic-American births. Reference
     
  • Sickle cell disease causes the body to create abnormal hemoglobin and abnormally ‘sickle’ shaped red blood cells that causes pain and numerous health complication. 
     
  • More than 100 million people worldwide have the sickle cell trait. They carry only one abnormal gene (unlike two with sickle cell disease) and typically live normal lives. Rarely, extreme conditions such as severe dehydration and high-intensity physical activity can lead to serious health issues, including sudden death, for individuals with sickle cell trait. Reference
     
  • Although there is no cure for Sickle Cell Disease, blood transfusions are a critical part of treatment and can relieve the pain and complications that occur during a sickle cell crises. 
     
  • Thalassemia is also inherited blood disorder caused when the body doesn’t make enough hemoglobin. It is a treatable disorder that can be well-managed with blood transfusions and chelation therapy. Reference

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Social Media Resources

Click on the images below that you would like to download, then right click and select "Save image as" to use on your social media pages!

Social Media Graphics

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Help Fight Sickle Cell

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Sickle Cell Infographic

1 in 3 african-american blood donors are a match for a sickle cell patient

1 in 13 african-americans have sickle cell trait

Animated Graphics

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Pull Quotes

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Profile Pictures

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Email Headers

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Additional Resources


Advancements

TRANSFORMING SICKLE CELL CARE IN THE U.S. AND BEYOND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) remains a significant—yet largely neglected—global health crisis, impacting millions of people worldwide. Every year on June 19, countries throughout the world unite to celebrate World Sickle Cell Day. The international awareness day is observed to increase public knowledge of SCD. 

CHANGING THE FACE OF SCD IN KENYA: In Kenya, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health concern and a significant contributor to child and adult morbidity and mortality. The Ministry of Health in Kenya, in partnership with Novartis, Non-communicable Diseases Alliance Kenya (NCDAK) and Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), launched the Sickle Cell Disease Afya Dhabiti Project in September 2023 to help reduce the burden of SCD in Kenya and strengthen health systems to improve patients’ access to quality care. The groundbreaking initiative aims to enhance the quality of life for people with SCD in Kenya through comprehensive awareness, education and advocacy in 17 high SCD burden counties. The three-year program will focus on training, research, capacity building of health care workers, affordability and accessibility to treatment.

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*Eligible for donations after 9/1/2021. If a Red4Life donor is also eligible to receive the Rapid Response Team donor bonus (800 points for 4 annual donations), they will only receive one (1) 800 point bonus once per year.