(Newburgh) - Newburgh Free Academy and New York Blood Center (NYBC) teamed up to mark Sickle Cell Awareness Month with a blood drive and press conference, in hopes of drawing attention to the important role blood donors play in treating this disease. This followed the New York Blood Center's recent emergency appeal for donors. On September 13th, faced with bare shelves, NYBC issued an urgent appeal for donors. Since that day, the Blood Center has increased from a 2-day supply to a 4-day supply. However, a 7-day supply is ideal for meeting patients' needs and avoiding a critical shortage. That's where the students of NFA come in.
During the press conference, Jo Ann Cella, NYBC Account Manager stated that, "with one in every 500 African-Americans affected, Sickle Cell disease (SCD) is a real and very serious illness for many residents in Orange County."
NFA student Neil Patel spoke of the Sickle Cell disease and how the SCD is an inherited disease afflicting people of African, Hispanic and Middle Eastern descent. Ninety-eight percent of SCD patients are African-American. There is no cure and the average life expectancy of SCD patients is 55. The best treatment for SCD is blood transfusions.
When it comes to treating SCD patients, donors of the same ethnic background are most likely to have compatible blood types. For this reason, NYBC is actively recruiting African-American, Hispanic and Middle Eastern donors in our area as part of its Precise Match program. However, because approximately 60% of New York's population is eligible to donate blood and only 2% do so, this recruitment effort remains a challenge.
In the girls gym, NFA students were up to the challenge. First checking to see if they were eligible to donate blood (must be at least 17 years old; weight at least 110 pounds; and be in good general health), the students bravely waited for the donor specialists to draw their blood.
Senior Erika Hernandez, a first time donor, said she wanted to give blood to, "help someone in need [of blood]." With friends by her side, she braved the needle, as did Talish Boykin and Amy Lau - all first time blood donors. With a little juice and a couple of cookies, they were on their way back to class.
Between September 1st and September 10th donations in the Hudson Valley were 11 percent behind what is needed with the NYBC taking in 1,700 instead of 2,000. NYBC provides 2,000 units of blood daily to 200 area hospitals. If you would like to donate blood or want more information, contact the NYBC at (800) 933-BLOOD.
Pictured above: NFA senior Erika Hernandez is all smiles while Nurse Ruthann prepares to draw blood for the NYBC blood drive.
Pictured to the right: Donor Specialist Zaib prepares to draw blood from Amy Lau, who holds tightly onto her friend Catherine George's hand.
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