For patients with sickle cell disease, blood donors are a matter of life and death

Every six weeks for the past nine years, Mawasi Belle has been donating blood, totaling nearly 80 trips to the medical institution and thousands of pints of blood collected. But for Belle, this selfless act is merely a part of her lifestyle. "My decision to give is easy. If I do not donate, patients with serious blood diseases, like sickle cell anemia, will die." And Belle is right: Patients with sickle cell disease and other serious blood conditions rely on donors to keep their blood flowing an...