9 Things Blacks Need to Know About Donating Blood

In this country, over 100,000 people have sickle cell disease – the great majority of whom are African American or of African descent. These patients may require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lifetime. Unfortunately, many people are hesitant to donate blood out of fear or due to a lack of information.  To combat this, we spoke with Dr. Yvette Miller, executive medical officer at the American Red Cross, to discuss the most pressing things people should know before they donate blood. 1. A large percentage of Blacks have type O blood One in 3 African American blood donors are a match for people with sickle cell disease. “Type O blood is the most common blood type in this country. The majority of people in this country have group O blood. African Americans are the second largest population of individuals with group O blood,” Dr. Miller says. “We encourage and we need Black people to donate just to ensure that we have enough group O blood on the shelves to meet the transfusion needs of the general population. We need group O blood, particularly when there’s an emergency and [first responders] don’t know the specific blood type of a recipient.” Group...