sickle cell anemia

MEMPHIS, TN – Nearly a million and counting – that’s how much money has been raised to build the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of Memphis. But that's still short of the $5 million goal announced in April.

"We've been concentrating so far on major corporations and major foundations,” explained Jim McGehee, co-chair of the fundraising campaign and chairman of McGehee Realty and Development.

He said the need for a sickle cell center is great in Memphis and Shelby County, where an estimated 1600 adults live with the hereditary blood disease.

“Memphis and Shelby county have the second-largest sickle cell population in America,” McGehee said, noting that the disease hits hardest among African Americans, and stifles the flow of oxygen through the body.

“As the sickle cell patient matures, more and more red blood cells are dying faster than their hemoglobin system can replace the dying cells,” McGehee said. "A joint or an organ is suffering from oxygen starvation and clotting.”

Mark Yancy, major gifts coordinator for Methodist Healthcare Foundation, is sharing his personal battle with sickle cell to help raise money too.

“It's not just pain,” said Yancy, who was 11 months old when he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. “You can have hip problems, you can have your hips replaced - I've had that done."

He said he’s watched other relatives – a cousin, aunts and uncles – cope with sickle cell too.

“I work in healthcare, and I have sickle cell, so I’ve seen it from both sides,” he said. “To say that ‘I know there’s one place I can go if I’m ever in crisis, if I’m ever in pain’ – that would be phenomenal.”

Sickle Cell Anemia