How you can help Miracle and other sickle cell patients at blood drive
INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Miracle Campbell, 6, wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Or a zookeeper for unicorns and baby monkeys.
But first, she needs the option to have a blood transfusion.
Campbell was born with sickle cell disease, a rare condition where a person’s red blood cells become rigid, blocking blood flow to the rest of the body. The disease affects about 1,700 Hoosiers, the majority of whom are Black.
Blood transfusions are an effective treatment and can prevent organ damage, strokes and severe pain.
That’s why Innovative Hematology and Versiti Indiana Blood Center are hosting a minority blood drive on Sept. 21 for Miracle and other patients who suffer from diseases like sickle cell that primarily affect minorities. The drive will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Greater Northwest Baptist Church, 3402 W 62nd St. Interested donors can register here.
“We have a shortage of minority donations,” said Carlene Heeter, a sickle cell advocate who is organizing the drive. “It’s not about the blood type, it’s the antigens in the blood that make it different.”
People from all backgrounds have antigens, a unique marker in their blood. Patients can develop an immune response to donations from someone of a different race, Heeter said, and it’s best to use blood with antigens that match.
But that can be a tall order: Less than 1% of blood donations in Indiana are from African American donors, according to the Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center.
“It’s a trust factor we have to break down by educating,” Heeter said.
Jorrell Campbell, 37, is aware of the stigmas surrounding blood donations. But now someone he loves is in need: “My daughter is a good cause.”
Two years ago, Miracle was so sick her legs stopped working. Her father watched on as doctors stuck her with needles. The blood transfusion helped bring her circulation back — and she will likely need more in the future.
“It would help so much to know when Miracle does have to get a blood transfusion, I don’t have to worry,” Campbell told Mirror Indy. “We would have access, so there would be less pressure.”
Miracle’s mother, Adrienne Walker, 32, also has sickle cell and needs monthly blood transfusions. The disease can be inherited when both parents have the genetic trait. Jorrell was never tested as a child and did not know he had the same trait as Miracle’s mother.
“Please donate if you can,” Walker said. “I’m living off of somebody else’s blood.”
She worries about the day her daughter will need as many blood transfusions as her.
But Miracle has her name for a reason.
“That little girl saved my life,” Walker recalled. “At the hospital in 2018, I had just had a stroke and seizures. I heard her crying and it woke me up.”
Mother and daughter will be at the blood drive on Sept. 21 to encourage donors. Miracle has one message for them: “Thank you for helping me!”
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.