TYLER, Texas — The community came together to the North Tenneha Church of Christ in Tyler on Saturday to help combat sickle cell disease one bag of blood at a time.
"We recognize that, we as a community have an issue with sickle cell anemia," North Tenneha Church of Christ Ministry Leader Vickie Norman said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 13 Black or African American babies are born with a sickle cell trait in the United States.
To help combat this issue, the North Tenneha Church of Christ is hosting a blood drive for the people who need it the most.
"We're finding that there are people in our community that need blood whenever they're in this sickle cell crisis. They're having to go far in order to get treatment because the blood is not available in our local area," Norman said.
By hosting these blood drives, Norman hopes that the church can fill the gap for anybody in need of blood.
This is the fifth time the North Tenneha Church of Christ has hosted this blood drive and is dedicating it by honoring one of their former American Red Cross volunteers, Jessie McLendon, who passed away.
"He did a lot of work, and so in honor of him, we are going to continue on with his mission and we're going to host these blood drives and help people," Norman said.
Tenneha Church of Christ member Zanell Cain has been donating blood for over 40 years and encourages others to contribute towards the helpful cause that can make a difference in someone's life.
"It was just a joy to be able to help, and that's the purpose of donating blood," Cain said.
For a complete list of blood donation centers visit, the American Red Cross for more information.