Operation
Push For Blood was created by Tina Kay because she was born with an inherited
blood disorder (sickle cell disease) that has no cure and she needs blood
often. After needing blood and there was
none available for 4 days she decided to make this one of her platforms, blood
donation. Many people don't realize
that genetically it’s best that people who belong to the same ethnic group
donate blood to one another to help decrease the number of complications that
could possibly com along with using blood from another ethnic group. In layman’s terms, it is best to receive
blood from someone in your race (because more times than not there is a genetic
match). With blood transfusions and
blood exchanges being common therapies for people like Tina Kay living with
SCD, more African American blood donors are needed! Tina Kay works closely with Life South
Community Blood Centers who provide Alabama with approximately 95% of the blood
in Alabama, because their specialty is blood and nothing else. She's an amazing person according to Life
South check it out http://www.lifesouth.org/donate/patient-stories/.
Tina
has teamed up with First United Community Foundation (501c3), the NAACP
(Alabama Conference) & Summit Media Group to get 50,000 African Americans
to donate blood by December 31, 2015.
This campaign is in remembrance of our forefathers who shed blood and
died for our rights during 'Bloody Sunday', so we are asking today’s generation
to donate blood to save the lives of those who look like you. However, if you cannot donate blood you can
donate funds to help the blood donation campaign to help us reach the goal of
50,000 African Americans donating blood by the end of this year, however, donating
both ways would be ideal! Are you
interested in entering your organization into the kick off festival to compete
against other adult (civic, social, and professional) organizations? All you have to do is email oppush4blood@gmail.com to enter your
organization. We as a people need to
become blood donors for the remainder of your life, so that you can save many
lives!
It
is sad but true that the percentage of blood donated by black people is not
filling the need, meaning more black people need to donate blood. So, Tina Kay created a movement to educate,
engage, and encourage blood donation in her community. Most times Tina will use her own money to
host blood drives in the form of competitions, challenges, festivals, events, and
town hall forums to help increase the amount of donated blood. She works with schools, churches,
non-profits, organizations, and events to set up blood drives. She really needs your help! Studies have found that 37% of the population
can donate blood but only 10% donate and less than 1% of that 10% are African
Americans, if you are reading this and you do not donate blood on a regular
basis now is your chance to make a difference by donating a kind contribution
by visiting www.fundrazr.com (Donate Blood
or Donate Funds!).
Did
you know every 2 seconds someone in the US needs blood, 1in 7 people who are
admitted into the hospital will need blood, 1 blood donation can save the lives
of 3 people, if someone started giving blood at the age of 17 years old until
they were 76 years old, thousands of lives would be saved, and 4.5 million
people will need blood every year. In
order to save lives and provide a better quality of life for others needing
blood we need your generous monetary donation!
You never know, it could be your child or you in need of blood one day!
The
kick off competitive festival for this campaign will begin Saturday, April 18,
2015 from 10am-6pm in Avondale Park (Birmingham, AL) see www.tinakay.net, Operation Push
For Blood on Facebook, or Arts For Life Festival also on Facebook. If you would like to enter your group or high
school into the kick off festival (blood donation) competition or if you would
like to host a blood drive please email oppush4blood@gmail.com
By Tina Kay
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