MOLINE, Ill. — The Tabernacle Baptist Church in Moline teamed up with ImpactLife on Saturday, Feb. 26 to host a blood drive.
Glenda Guster with the church said the blood drive is to help community members fight sickle cell disease, while also celebrating Black History Month.
The blood drive commemorates Charles Drew, she said. Drew was a Black physician renowned for his work in blood plasma preservation. His research of the storage, processing and shipment of blood plasma saved hundreds of British lives during World War II. It continues to save lives today.
The blood drive comes as ImpactLife continues to face a shortage of blood donations. It says it is in need of all blood types.
"(Donating blood is) very important and we're grateful that people want to come out and help us out," Guster said. "Also, we're using some of the blood to go with sickle cell victims. That's the thing we need to do too: give back to our community. What better way than to give blood? So we're happy for that."
Sickle cell is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells for blood to be properly carried throughout your body. It affects approximately 100,000 Americans, more commonly minorities, according to the CDC. Approximately 1 in 13 Black babies is born with sickle cell trait.