What do T-Boz, Prodigy, and Chrissa's brother, Tiger, all have in common? They were all born with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
According to the CDC, it is estimated that:
SCD affects approximately 100,000 Americans.
SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births.
SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic-American births.
About 1 in 13 Black or African-American babies is born with sickle cell trait (SCT).
In this episode, Tiger tapped in with us to discuss life with SCD, what a disability "looks like," his bone marrow transplant, coming to terms with death at a young age, COVID-19, and so much more. Honestly, you might want to grab some tissue because someone was cutting onions while we were recording this episode.
Happy Bone Marrow Birthday Tiger!! We love you and pray that God continues to bless you so you can continue to be a blessing to others.
Since Chrissa and Tiger are obviously not medical professionals, here is a link to find out more [credible] information about SCD.
Ways to give back this holiday season:
Join Be The Match's bone marrow registry
Donate to Make-A-WishTo our Black and African American listeners:
Typically the best chance of finding a suitable bone marrow donor is with someone of the same racial or ethnic background as the recipient. As of 2017, individuals of Black and African American ancestry were underrepresented in the bone marrow registry, making it more difficult to find donor matches for those suffering from blood diseases like sickle cell, according to Mary Halet (Director of Community Engagement at Be The Match).
Essentially, to help more Black and African American patients, more Black and African American people need to join the bone marrow registry. It's as simple as that.
As always, you can email your stories, questions, and opinions to [email protected] or you can DM us on IG!