RICHMOND, Va. β You can often find guys like Jamal Bailey at peace with controller in hand and a game on the big screen.
"I've been playing video games since I was 6 years old," Bailey said.
It's a virtual experience he gets more out of than most because it's one of the few things he can do without compromising his health.
"It also takes my mind off of my sickle cell pain," he said.
Bailey has sickle cell anemia, a blood disease that often leaves him in pain and keeps him from physically exerting himself.
Blood transfusions can make a big difference, but finding the right donation can be difficult.
If you've ever donated blood, there's a good chance that it goes through the rare blood reference lab, under the watchful eyes of specialists like Red Cross Immunohematology Reference Technologist Jeremy Oliphant.
"We are doing testing for donors who have special immunological needs, meaning their immune system has different reactivity than what we would typically expect towards donor red cells," Oliphant said.
This means going deeper than just matching blood types O, A, B, and AB.
Think of antigens like unique markers on red blood cells, each of which could trigger negative responses if the immune system detects markers that don't match.
"All these are called transfusion reactions, and they can have devastating consequences for the patient," Oliphant said. "Including organ failure and fever and respiratory distress."
But getting the right match can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
"It's not uncommon for us to be searching for units that would be only 1 in every 10,000 or 1 in every 100,000 donors," Oliphant said.
Obstacles that can be overcome with a large supply. But Red Cross spokesperson Jonathan McNamara says that's not often the case with holidays approaching.
"As we see those numbers drop, unfortunately that's when we find ourselves in blood shortage situations that can lead to healthcare professionals or hospitals having to make challenging decisions about who they give blood to," McNamara said.
"It is extremely important that we have donor diversity so that we can find matching units to donors of all populations that have a need for rare blood," Oliphant said.
Many times matching a donor's race with the patient can be the key, especially for diseases like sickle cell.
"How often does my blood go through this lab?" I asked Oliphant as a frequent donor.
"Your blood is one that we would not let go for anybody that's not a sickle cell patient," Oliphant said.
When Oliphant told me that my donations were providing relief to those very patients with sickle cell, it was meaningful to learn about the impact.
"Without a doubt, your blood has gone to hospitals around Virginia that had that unit specifically ordered for one specific patient that had that specific need in order for them to be able to feel good and move about their day," Oliphant continued.
My blood unfortunately isn't a match for Bailey.
"People have the right to have a happy and healthy life. So even if it's not a match to me, I'm happy that it's going to someone that it's now going to help," Bailey said.
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