Celebrating young Black leaders helping to diversify the blood supply

By Emma C. Fermo, Red Cross writer

Hilina, Red Cross blood drive organizer

Hilina, a senior at Deering High School in Portland, Maine, never expected a graduation requirement to turn into a community-wide act of health advocacy. What began as a senior capstone project, a requirement for Deering students in their final year, quickly became something much larger.

“I’m known to be an ambitious person, and I needed a good and bold idea,” the seventeen-year-old student said.

Motivated by family members and friends impacted by sickle cell disease, Hilina worked with the American Red Cross to organize a sickle cell blood drive aimed at diversifying the blood supply to help patients in need.

“I’m always confident that this means a lot to other people, even if I don’t ever meet the people who use the donations,” Hilina said. 

Blood donors who are Black play a critical role in helping people with sickle cell disease, the most common genetic blood disease in the U.S. – and regular blood transfusions are critical to manage extreme pain and life-threatening complications. Sickle cell disease primarily affects those who are African American or of African descent. Patients with this disease may require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lifetime — as many as 100 units of blood per patient each year. It is essential that the blood they receive be the most compatible match possible from someone of the same race or similar ethnicity.

Hilina, a blood donor herself, recalls the first time she gave blood.

“The first time I ever donated blood was actually here,” at Deering, “and I noticed that I was the only POC (Person of Color) donating – if not one maybe two other people. And it just shook me.”

So for her, the motivation to host the drive for was personal. Hilina is a blood recipient, and knows firsthand the healing power of donated blood, following a series of hip surgeries.

“I needed a blood transfusion. I don’t know the person who gave it to me, but I’m always grateful to them wherever they are.”

She also has loved ones living with sickle cell disease. 

“I know a lot of people in my life who have sickle cell anemia – and it affects their life every day,” she said. “I’ve face-timed with one of my friends in the hospital and she said, ‘It’s fine, but it takes a lot away from your life.’ And it’s really sad to hear that.” 

One in three African American donors is a potential match for patients with sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that disproportionally affects Black Americans. Hilina saw an opportunity to for her peers to make a tangible difference. 

“At Deering, there are a lot of Black kids, POCs; we are known to be the most diverse school north of Boston, and I’m very proud of that,” she said. “I realized if I organized a blood drive, maybe people would feel more comfortable knowing that the person organizing it is a Black woman, and she’s young and she’s willing to do it,” she said.

Hilina relied on her strong personal network of family, friends, volunteers, and classmates to help the spread word and encourage participation, filling the blood drive with 50 appointments in less than two weeks, all while educating her fellow students about the lifesaving importance of a diverse blood supply.

While she credits incentives like gift cards and snacks for the turnout, the blood drive itself was the result of Hilina’s hard work and determination. As co-president of her high school’s Black Student Union, she said she hopes her leadership shows what is possible. 

“If we can show other areas of Maine that somebody like me is organizing something like this, it means a lot to the community,” she said. “I have a voice.”

This marks only the second sickle cell blood drive ever in the Northern New England Region. Together with her donors, Hilina’s drive collected 25 lifesaving donations, and most spectacularly 80% of these young people were first-time blood donors! 

“I was holding the hands of one of my friends. She was very nervous because it was her first time. I told her, ‘Just think of the people you are saving.’ I understand that this is scary, but for somebody who is always at the hospital or who might not have a chance to live or goes through pain every single day, this is only a small portion of what you can do, and it has a drastic impact,” Hilina said.

To learn more about sickle cell disease and to schedule a blood donation appointment visit RedCrossBlood.org/OurBlood, use the Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS.