LEXINGTON, Ky. (WLEX) — A pair of historically Black Greek organizations in Lexington partnered with Red Cross Kentucky for a blood donation drive benefiting sickle cell patients on Friday.
The Lexington (KY) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (DST) and PSI TAU Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity both have missions of public service that have been fulfilled through local groups nationwide for over a hundred years.
For the first time, they decided to combine for a special "Our Blood Saves Lives" Blood Drive at Consolidated Baptist Church.
"Sometimes people hear the word sorority or fraternity and think party and so yes, we have sisterhood and yes, we like to have a good time, but our ultimate goal is public service," said DST chapter president Dawn Offutt. "Being able to say I'm a part of that is amazing to me."
For sickle cell patients blood transfusions can be vital to treatment.
"When the blood starts to sickle it starts to accumulate in blood vessels and that can block blood flow and so for persons who have sickle cell disease when they start to have blockages it can cause painful crisis in their extremities it can cause have painful crisis in their chest where they can't breath and again it can cause stroke. blood transfusion can kind of push out those sickled cells but without it those patients are left with few options," said Micean Johnikin, member and pediatric doctor.
Sickle cell patients may need as many as 100 blood transfusions a year, and research has shown that African American patients who receive blood from African American donors typically have less risk of side effects.
It's why their push on Friday was to encourage more African Americans to donate to help.
"When you look at sickle cell disease in African Americans one out of every 500 African Americans here in the united states has been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and so it is a significant disease that affects us as a community and its something that we as a community need to rally around and support," said nurse Quentin Moore, who is also a member of Omega Psi Phi.
Their goal was 58 pints of blood donated and they were able to surpass that. A representative with Red Cross Kentucky said it was the largest show of African America donors in the state to date.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides assistance and support through established programs in local communities worldwide. The sorority currently has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, Canada, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, West Africa, and the Republic of Korea. The organization has a nationwide partnership with the Red Cross to increase blood donations across the country.
They have several other programs focused on physical and mental health.
