New York Blood Center Offering Free Sickle Cell Testing This Month

NEW YORK — There is a very good chance that donating blood could save a life. But this month, there is an even greater chance than usual the life you save could be your own or a loved one's.

The New York Blood Center announced that it will be offering free sickle cell trait testing for the entire month of September at select blood drives in honor of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

The New York Blood Center expects that nearly 3,000 donations will be tested for the sickle cell trait as part of a special initiative to help those affected to better understand what their own sickle cell trait might mean and how that knowledge can help them to make better decisions for their health and their families.

Donors of diverse backgrounds may also be screened for special antigen markers to find a better match for patients in need, as sickle cell patients often require blood from donors with similar antigens during treatment.

A list of participating blood drives can be found here.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited red cell disorder that is most common in the U.S. among African Americans, impacting about 10,000 New Yorkers. The CDC estimates that approximately 100,000 people are affected nationwide.

Sickle cell disease patients rely on blood transfusions to stay healthy, often needing them every few weeks and requiring very closely matched blood products because their bodies make antibodies against transfused red blood cells.

People who inherit one sickle cell gene and one normal gene are considered to have the sickle cell trait. While a person may test positive for sickle cell trait, it does not mean that they have sickle cell disease; it does, however, mean that they can pass the trait on to their children. Understanding one's sickle cell trait can help them to make better decisions for their health and their families.

While 1 out of every 13 African American babies are born with the sickle cell trait, about 1 out every 365 of those babies have the sickle cell disease.

"New York Blood Center is proud to be a leader in sickle cell disease research and to provide life-saving blood to our area’s hospitals to treat these patients who require frequent transfusions," New York Blood Center VP Andrea Cefarelli explained. "We hope this initiative will inspire New Yorkers to donate blood and get tested for sickle cell trait as these tests will allow donors to make more informed decisions regarding their health."

The New York Blood Center's leading research in sickle cell disease focuses on preventing and treating complications, including pain episodes and tissue injury, and developing novel strategies to help cure the disease through stem cell transplantation and gene therapy. As home to some of the world’s foremost programs in transfusion management of patients with sickle cell disease, the New York Blood Center hopes that this initiative will help to combat sickle cell disease and its complications by raising awareness about the prevalence of sickle cell disease, the sickle cell trait and the need for blood donations from people of color.

Extra precautions are being taken to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. People are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions is available here.

To make an appointment at one of these blood drives, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit the website. If you can't donate blood, you can still support NYBC’s mission by texting ‘NYBC’ to ‘20222’ to give $25.

Founded in 1964, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. More information about NYPC is available here.