A NEW coalition of Black organisations have come together to launch blood donation campaign in memory of 21-year-old sickle cell patient Evan Nathan Smith.
Black people aged 17-66 are being encouraged to register to donate blood under a new blood donation campaign in memory of Evan Nathan Smith.
Evan was a 21-year-old Black man who suffered a Sickle Cell crisis in hospital, but later died due to medical staff failing to provide him with a blood transfusion. A recent coroner’s inquest concluded, had Evan who worked as a Sports Analyst, received the blood transfusion he had requested, his life may have been saved.
The campaign, ‘United by Blood: Donating in memory of Evan Nathan Smith’ which launches today, supported by NHS Blood and Transplant, has been created by three Black organisations working together to raise awareness of blood disorders and blood donation: ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust), Black Mums Upfront and CellFeForLife.
Last year, 10,000 Black donors gave 10 minutes of their time to donate life-saving blood.
Every month NHS Blood and Transplant need over 1,300 new Black donors to provide not only essential treatment for the 14,000 patients living with Sickle Cell Disease, but also provide life-saving blood for use in emergencies, childbirth, during surgery, treatment of cancer and for a range of medical conditions.
Whilst people from the same ethnic background are more likely to have the same blood type, the shortage of black donors makes it harder to find the best ethnically matched blood for black patients.
The blood donor drive will take place on Saturday 19th June (World Sickle Cell Day) and Sunday 20th June (Father’s Day). To register to donate blood and attend the blood donation sessions, individuals should call the priority booking line on 0300 303 2737. Alternatively, potential donors can visit http://bit.ly/UnitedByBlood2021 to book an appointment.
‘United by Blood donation sessions’ will take place at the below locations:
Saturday 19th June
- London, Westfield Shepherd’s Bush Donor Centre
- London, Westfield Stratford City Donor Centre
- London, West End Blood Donor Centre
- Manchester, Norfolk House Donor Centre
- Birmingham Blood Donor Centre, New Street
- Bristol Blood Donor Centre
Sunday 20th June
- London, Tottenham Hotspur (Football) Stadium
- London, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton
Orin Lewis OBE, Co-Founder and CEO of ACLT said “The three organisations coming together which include ACLT, Black Mums Upfront and CellFeForLife, is an opportunity for the Black community to honour this young man’s name. Evan’s life was tragically lost; however, his name can live on, to help save the lives of others. Donating blood is safe, only takes 10 minutes and can save up to three lives. Blood transfusions help to prevent or relieve the painful symptoms and complications of Sickle Cell, a disease which Evan had. There are 14,000 Sickle Cell patients in the UK, and it is the fastest growing blood disorder with 300 babies born each year”
Carina White, Black Mums Upfront Co-Founder of Black Mums Upfront said: “Bringing these three organisations together to deliver this campaign and rally the community together is an example of how communities are stronger together. Evan didn’t need to die, what he needed was a blood transfusion and tragically that wasn’t afforded to him. Sickle Cell is a disease that affected Evan and also predominantly affects the Black community, what better way to honour his life and show Black Lives do Matter, than by donating blood to ensure other Sickle cell patients have access to blood when they need it”
Vashti-iona Beckford and Melissa Thermidor, Co-Founders of CellFeForLife said: “Blood donation is a vital lifeline for many, and the best match for some comes from ethnically matched blood. We hope this is the beginning of normalizing blood donation in the Black community. Donating is quick, easy and could save lives. Evan should be here with us today, and we are honoured to help celebrate his life while helping to save the lives of others.
The team at ACLT, an award winning charity, have been working tirelessly for years providing hope to patients living with blood cancer. Orin Lewis, its Co-Founder reinforce the importance of increasing donors from the black community. ”We want our work through this campaign to contribute towards helping to increase the overall number of donors from ethnic minorities who donate blood regularly in the UK (which is currently at 1%), moving blood donation to reach a level where there is enough ethnically matched blood available for those who so desperately need it today and, in the future,”.
For more information about ACLT, visit www.https://aclt.org; for Black Mums Upfront, visit ww.blackmumsupfront.com and for CellFeForLife, visit their Insta page @cellfeforlife
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