# @americanredcross on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DO6l3ttjfS2
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/72588402-americanredcross-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/97e868cca1.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-09-22T19:01:07.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Red Cross (@americanredcross) — https://gondola.cc/americanredcross

## Caption

NAACP Chairman Leon Russell has always believed in showing up for his community, and donating blood is one way he’s done just that.

Leon began giving blood in the 1970s, making it a regular part of his life for many years. He returned to the donor chair during a blood drive at the 116th NAACP Convention in Charlotte, NC, to honor the memory of his two younger brothers, Amos and Phyllis, who both lived with sickle cell disease.

Leon remembers the long drives from their small town in Virginia to the hospital when his brothers would suffer a sickle cell crisis.

“It was still during a period of time when there were segregated facilities,” Leon said. “It was a four-hour drive from our house to the University of Virginia Hospital.”

His brothers experienced these painful crises from childhood on, and blood transfusions were often the only thing that could ease their suffering.

“Seeing them go through a crisis and then having the crisis recede after the blood donation was the most immediate and obvious thing,” Leon said.

Sadly, Amos passed away in his mid-20s after a crisis led to a fatal blood clot. Phyllis lived into his late 30s before passing away in the midst of a sickle cell crisis. Their lives — and their deaths — left a lasting impact on Leon.

Now, as Chairman of the NAACP, he is using his voice to raise awareness and drive action. Under his leadership, the NAACP is working in partnership with the American Red Cross to help expand blood donation opportunities in Black communities and to grow the number of blood donors who are Black to help sickle cell warriors. To date, the NAACP and Red Cross have hosted over 165 blood drives in support of patients with sickle cell disease.

“We still are in a period of time where blood transfusions are necessary,” Leon said. “Even though we’re seeing advancements in treatment protocols, blood is still a preeminent kind of treatment for the disease.”

You could be a lifesaving match for a patient with sickle cell disease. Make a difference in someone’s life and schedule an appointment to give blood through the link in our bio. #TeamUp4SickleCell

#DonateBlood #GiveBlood #SickleCellDisease #SickleCell #SickleCellAwareness

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## Tags

sicklecellawareness, giveblood, donateblood, sicklecell, teamup4sicklecell, sicklecelldisease

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