Columbus hosting blood drive, city hall illumination event for Sickle Cell Awareness Month

Columbus is hosting a community blood drive to support people with sickle cell disease.

The blood drive will take place on Sept. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the American Red Cross, 955 E. Broad Street, Columbus.

Sickle Cell is an inherited red blood cell disorder, in which blood cells are in a curved, sickle shape instead of the typical round shape. The sticky cells clog blood vessels and die earlier, causing a shortage of red blood cells and an immense amount of pain.

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The disorder also necessitates frequent blood transfusions for the approximately 100,000 mostly Black U.S. residents affected by it. It can also contribute to other health issues.

Last year, scientists said they might have a new cure for the disorder, for which the only established cure had previously been complicated and risky bone marrow transplants.

Two drug companies, Bluebird Bio and Vertex Pharmaceuticals/CRISPR Therapeutics, sent gene therapies to the Food and Drug Administration for approval after doing clinical trials. Bluebird announced its success with patients in trials in December 2021, while Vertex and CRISPR did the same in June 2022.

They say that those in the trials stopped having crises — which those impacted have said are characterized by intense pain, sometimes for weeks, and usually due to blood cells clogging vessels — and were living normally after the therapies.

September is national Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankston, whose wife Habiba has the disorder, will host the Annual Sickle Cell Disease Awards and City Hall Illumination Ceremony on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. after the city council meeting.

To schedule an appointment to donate blood, visit redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code: ARCCOMMUNITY.

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@DanaeKing