Black Americans needed in blood drives
The donation rates in other cities with substantial African-American populations also are low, according to American Red Cross statistics. In Los Angeles, the rate is 0.6 percent; in Philadelphia the rate is 1.9 percent; and in Washington, D.C., it is 1.1 percent.
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Traditionally African-American communities donate blood, as well as organs, at a lower rate than the rest of the population.
Studies have found that is caused by a distrust of the medical system due to a history of being discriminated against in access to health care as well as the ramifications of the U.S. government’s “Tuskegee Experiment,” where 399 black men infected with syphilis were never treated nor told what was wrong with them.
A 2002 article in the medical journal “Transfusion” found that African-Americans were 60 percent to 80 percent less likely to donate blood than white males.
The lack of donors in Detroit has created a kind of perfect storm of a blood shortage for local African-Americans.
Type O blood is already in great need because it’s the universal blood type, but in Detroit, more type O is needed because of the substantial African-American population.
LaShawn Wilson’s daughter, Reneta, 12, is treated regularly for sickle cell anemia.
“I do all I can to get my family members to be blood donors,” said Wilson, who works as a nurse’s assistant. “I think if people knew how much they could help by doing this, there wouldn’t be a shortage.” (more…)
At think that at a certain point the Tuskegee Experiment excuse is going to have to be buried. I have read other medical studies that cite the same reason behind why Blacks do not get check ups. Neither should we settle for the “lack of access to blood drive facilities” line as many of these drives are held in Black churches in the inner city.
