Be The MVP of Your Community

Former Pittsburgh Steeler and MVP of Super Bowl 43, Santonio Holmes is teaming up with OneBlood for Be the MVP of Your Community, a campaign designed to create a call to action for African Americans to donate blood to specifically help sickle cell patients. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that primarily affects people of African ancestry. Many sickle cell patients require frequent blood transfusions, and in most cases, blood from other African Americans will be the perfect match. Trouble is, less than 5% of African Americans donate blood and that makes finding compatible blood for sickle cell patients a major challenge. Will you be the MVP?

I Want To Be An MVP

The Need is Real

Go behind the scenes of OneBlood with Santonio for an eye-opening look at the massive effort that takes place around-the-clock to find blood for sickle cell patients. Discover why a diverse blood supply is vital for the nation, and meet a sickle cell patient who has had 500 blood transfusions in five years!

I Want To Be An MVP

Behind The Scenes with Santonio Holmes April 30, 2021
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"You can help patients sidelined from sickle cell when you donate blood."

- Santonio Holmes

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Why Do Sickle Cell Patients Need Blood Donors?

Sickle cell is the most common inherited blood disease. It causes red blood cells to form abnormal crescent shapes that often get stuck together when traveling through the body, causing painful clots.

It is impossible to help sickle cell patients effectively manage their disease without the help of local donors like you.

Because sickle cell patients often require regular transfusions throughout their lifetime, the blood they receive must be more closely matched to prevent rejection. While a donor from any racial or ethnic group can be a match for a sickle cell patient, the best match for a blood transfusion is from an African-American donor.

Sickle Cell By The Numbers

Genetics play an important role in finding a match for Sickle Cell patients. Although donors of all blood types and ethnicities may be a match for sickle cell patients, type O African American donors are more frequent matches.

50% of type O African Americans are a sickle cell patient match

only 1 in 40 other ethnicities is a type O match

only 5% of African Americans donate blood

I Want To Be An MVP

Host An MVP Blood Drive

If you are part of an organization that would be willing to host a blood drive, please contact us. In this fight, there can be more than one MVP!

“I want to give people battling sickle cell disease a voice. They cannot fight it alone, they need a team. Be the MVP of Your Community is about letting the African American community know that people with sickle cell disease need them on their team. They can be the star player for sickle cell patients by simply becoming a blood donor or hosting a blood drive.”

- Santonio Holmes
(pictured with his son, Santonio Holmes III, a sickle cell warrior)

I Want To Host An MVP Blood Drive