Donate blood, platelet or plasma
Looking to make a difference in the lives of sickle cell patients around the world? Donate blood! Blood from healthy donors allows red blood cells to deliver oxygen throughout the blood and unblock blood vessels. The best match for blood is from a donor with a similar ethnicity or race. This group may provide the best opportunity to be a perfect match. Blood donation is simple and easy.
Share your story
We are looking for sickle mothers and mothers-to-be to share their story. Your journey will provide hope, healing and strength to other women. With these stories, we can provide a deeper understanding and awareness of the disease.
Provide emotional support
Give a listening ear or simply asking how you can help, will lift the spirits of a sickle cell patient. Hang out, listen to music, talk about what’s going on at school or home. If you can’t be there in person, find another way to talk. Encourage healthy habits. Everyone should eat well and stay hydrated, but it’s especially important for a mother with sickle cell disease.
Be an advocate
Sickle cell patients are faced with challenges. We need more people to erase the stigma. When a sickle cell patient goes to the hospital for care, they are treated as drug addicts. An advocate will be able to tell an ER doctor or nurse that a sickle crisis is real and painful.
Ask, ask, ask
Ask how you can help! Donating your time to a new or experienced mom with sickle cell disease will helpful. Help them out by dropping off or cooking a meal, or offer to run some errands with her. If the mom can’t come up with anything, look around the house and suggest some stuff. You can offer to entertain the oldest one(s) and let mom spend some alone time with the newest addition. Or, offer to do a night shift or two, so mom can get a good night sleep.
