Isaiah Darden-Roey, 8, gets monthly blood transfusions to manage pain, pneumonia and other complications of his sickle cell disease. Many people with the genetic blood disorder, most common among African-Americans, develop immune reactions from the transfusions because there isn?t enough closely matched blood available.
“I don’t ever want to see the day when there is no blood he can receive,” said Latyna Lewis, of Madison, Isaiah’s mother. “What would I do?” Lewis has teamed up with the American Red Cross in Madison to organize two blood drives this month. The events ? to feature former Badger tailback and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne ? aim to increase the pool of minority blood donors, especially those who are African-American. The blood drive on campus is February 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Red Gym.