Football Pro Joins a Team of Lifesavers

09/20/21 • 26 min

Episode 4, Season 2 of Black Blood Heals Out Now & Available Everywhere
In this episode of Black Blood Heals, Austin Jackson, Offensive Tackle for the Miami Dolphins, sits down with his sister, Autumn, to share why he decided to donate his marrow to cure her of a life-threatening blood disease. Hear about Austin's experience as he stepped away from playing college football at the University of Southern California for a few weeks to save his sister's life.
Today, Autumn has recovered fully from Diamond Blackfan anemia, and no longer relies on monthly blood transfusions to keep her active and healthy. She's starting to pursue her life goals, while Austin recovered quickly from his marrow donation to return to dominating on the football field, and eventually made it to the pros.
Austin and Autumn are sharing their story to encourage more African Americans to join the Be The Match Registry – because only 30 percent of patients have a matching donor in their family. The remaining 70 percent turn to Be The Match to find a matching donor. This powerful sibling duo will inspire you to join a team of lfiesaving donors.

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How Medical Disparities Affect Sickle Cell Patients

This episode of Black Blood Heals looks at how medical disparities affect people in the sickle cell community. Sickle Cell affects 1 in 365 African-Americans, about 100,000 individuals in the U.S.. Sickle Cell is the most common inherited or genetic disease in the U.S., yet historically receives far less funding than diseases which primarily affect Caucasian populations. Hear from a Stanford Medical School trained Family Physician and Author who actively manages Sickle Cell disease.