# @americanredcross on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DGeEnBpv2Y4
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/72588930-americanredcross-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e37c182d2b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-02-24T21:00:36.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Red Cross (@americanredcross) — https://gondola.cc/americanredcross

## Caption

When she was 5 years old, Keiosha remembers sitting in the lunchroom at school and not feeling well. “It felt like my body was shutting down,” she said. “Like my back and legs were paralyzed.”

Keiosha slumped over the lunch table and ended up going to the hospital. That was her first memory of having a sickle cell crisis. Keiosha has sickle cell disease, which means her red blood cells have a distorted shape, preventing them from flowing smoothly and carrying oxygen to the rest of the body. When these red blood cells get stuck in the blood vessels and block blood flow throughout the body, the result is a sickle cell pain crisis.

Keiosha was told she wouldn’t make it to her 16th birthday. Then, she was told she wouldn’t make it to 25. Today, at 36 years old, Keiosha is thriving with the help of blood transfusions, which she receives whenever she experiences a sickle cell crisis. Blood transfusions help speed up her recovery, and they allow her continue being a source of support and encouragement for her niece Erykah, who also has sickle cell disease.

“I knew it was my task to help my niece through this disease,” Keiosha said. “My fight isn’t just for me.”

Erykah receives red blood cell exchanges every two to four weeks to help reduce the number of crises she experiences and mitigate their symptoms. The red cell exchange therapy removes units of abnormal red blood cells and replaces them with units of healthy red blood cells.
 
“Blood donations save lives,” Erykah said. “Blood transfusions help me to not be in constant pain, they help create a sense of normalcy.”

Keiosha wholeheartedly agrees. “We absolutely need blood donations. That is how we survive.”

You could be a lifesaving match for a patient with sickle cell disease and provide the relief they need from pain and complications associated with the disease. Make a difference in someone’s life by scheduling an appointment to give blood — tap on the link in our bio to get started. #TeamUp4SickleCell

#GiveBlood #DonateBlood #GiveBloodSaveLives #DonateBloodSaveLives #SickleCellDisease #SickleCell #SickleCellAwareness #SickleCellWarrior

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 414
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 6

## Tags

sicklecellwarrior, sicklecellawareness, giveblood, donateblood, sicklecell, teamup4sicklecell, donatebloodsavelives, givebloodsavelives, sicklecelldisease

---
Copyright (c) Gondola