DAYTON — 7 Circle of Kindness partnered with the Miami Valley American Red Cross chapter to help bring awareness to Sickle Cell Disease.
News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins spent the day at the blood drive on First Street in Dayton and saw dozens of people come in and donate.
Chris, of Dayton, is one of many people who donated during the blood drive. Sickle Cell is the most common genetic blood disorder, and some people who donated know someone with the disease.
“It’s really not that big of a deal. You can sit her for 15 minutes, and squeeze something every three seconds, and then you go on with the rest of your day,” Chris said.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Coroner identifies body found in Stillwater river
- New law for Ohio drivers under 21 to go into effect today
- 10-year-old boy walks to fire station for help after being shot in face
Sharron Harrison, of Dayton, said, “I had a friend who passed with it, and so it’s always been a good cause to me to give blood for that.”
Sickle Cell Disease deforms red blood cells, causing patients to experience pain episodes and blood clots. Patients often require frequent blood transfusions, sometimes reaching as many as 100 units per year to manage health complications.
Angela Grayson, Sickle Cell Disease Advisory Board, at Dayton Children’s, said, “It’s hard to explain, but it feels like needles are just stabbing.”
Grayson has the disease and says blood drives can help people like her, especially during a pain crisis.
“So, we can look okay one day, and then the next day, we’re in the ER from these pain episodes of pain crisis,” she said.
Tuesday’s blood drive was made possible with the help of local sponsors such as Morris Home Ashley, and Resident Home Association.
Lori Singer with Resident Home Association said, “I’ve already run into somebody outside that just donated and, you know, they were proud and happy about it. And they really felt like they gave back,”
Everyone is encouraged to donate, especially if your blood type is O. That type is really in demand.
Colleen Meadows with the American Red Cross Miami Valley chapter said, “54% of the population of African Americans are Type O blood. That’s the first thing that flies off the shelf when there’s an emergency, a tragedy, or anything like that. And our Hispanic community is 57% Type O.”
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Lynn Gump, Executive Director of American Red Cross Miami Valley Chapter, said they welcomed 76 new donors, which resulted in 71 units of blood collected.
23 first-time donors attended (out of 31 scheduled).
Gump said, “Our goal was to increase awareness and exceed the 11% AA from last year, which we successfully achieved by rising 17% to bring our AA donations to 28%.
©2025 Cox Media Group
