Senator Jill P. Carter

Dear Friends,

Please join me for a very important event on Wednesday, September 29 from 11:00 to 4:00 at Morgan State University’s new Earl Graves School of Business. We are sponsoring a Blood Drive to highlight Sickle Cell Awareness Month. I urge everyone to click this link and make an appointment to donate blood along with me.

As you know, Sickle Cell Disease is a devastating illness that disproportionately strikes Black and Brown communities throughout Maryland. When a patient is in crisis, a blood transfusion is particularly vital. Here is why we need you to donate -
For many patients, hospitals can transfuse blood products solely on compatible A, B, O, and AB blood types. However, most individuals who are Black have some unique protein structures or antigens on their red blood cells that can make it difficult to find a compatible unit of blood in other donor populations.

Because sickle cell disease disproportionately impacts the Black community, and a single patient who has sickle cell can require thousands of blood transfusions throughout their life, receiving blood from a donor with the same race or similar ethnicity often provides the best opportunity for a well-matched unit, resulting in a transfusion that is better for the patient. This is because frequent transfusions can cause patients with sickle cell disease to develop an immune response against blood from a donor that is not closely matched, and this can lead to serious complications.

I will be there, rolling up my sleeve, to make a difference for our community. Hope to see you there!

Click here for more information!

https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001hZOywxaMmYAvnbxSAf6sLOBR1QljTmJkUnyG4QQQbR3zrqbYbR2TyIEevCC3mTL0_i3smh4wAxR-EpUVZDiSMQ8mbi5G75_ygOnu-IeJ5DG5v2TZrEFm4yoo4ReW14ZWEA9rpXS7nDB7GdM7kEjtBnD25ETfJZgQG0aGghj4EtzqvBjOkZ10bwymKiiJdx7JVF_xQOygqnAnJzlqFDsi8Eadif71TlyfmRYlW9dec0Ynyia-6n3ruQIBrQUERdBtMRs-e-lbTww=&c=q3I1GjKJFss4HmXtZhQt8JNqu_o70OvjRVyjCXTNjKXLWj5cfx4pEw==&ch=ch2pGWn9WDqtJXBl9Qm--5TISYWIYFOn_A0NTMKc8Gvy0-YeyPnQQQ==


Always in service,


Senator Jill P. Carter