Donate blood

The American Red Cross Penn-Jersey Region and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia established the Cooperative Sickle Cell Donor Program to encourage African-American donors to earmark their blood donations for children with sickle cell disease. The program now includes St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

About 15 percent of sickle cell patients at Children's Hospital are on chronic transfusion and receive blood every three to four weeks. People who receive frequent transfusions need blood that is closely matched to their own.

Currently, 1,000 units of blood are collected a month through the Cooperative Sickle Cell Donor Program. The program is working to expand the number of area hospitals that participate.

For more information about being a blood donor or sponsoring a blood drive through an organization or workplace, call the American Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.

Make a donation

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a not-for-profit organization that relies on charitable contributions to help offset the cost of tens of millions of dollars of uncompensated care annually. If you'd like to fund our efforts, visit our Giving page.