For Patients with Sickle Cell Disease, Blood Donors Are a Matter of Life and Death
Cedars-SinaiEvery six weeks for the past nine years, Mawasi Belle has been donating blood at Cedars-Sinai’s Blood Donor Services, totaling nearly 80 trips to the medical institution and thousands of pints of blood collected. But for Belle, this selfless act is merely a part of her lifestyle. “My decision to give is easy. If I do not donate, patients with serious blood diseases, like sickle cell anemia, will die.” And Belle is right: Patients with sickle cell disease and other serious blood conditions rely on donors to keep their blood flowing and hearts beating.