Myron B. Pitts
SOUTHERN PINES — The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center put out a desperate call for blood donations last week.
Officials said type O-negative and type O-positive blood will arrive within two days of the shortage. Blood types are the first and second best choices for medical professionals in emergencies, as patients with different blood types are more likely to be accepted.
Carol Barbera gets angry every time she hears such pleas. She was and will always be an avid blood donor.
She also has a lot of blood to donate.
Due to her medical condition, she requires a pint of blood drawn at least every two months. This blood is perfectly usable as donor blood. Instead, it goes directly to medical waste.
“My family always gave,” said Barbera, who grew up on a farm in Lee County. “My brothers, my parents, my mom, my dad. That was what I believed in.”
She says she learned on her family's farm that “nothing should go to waste.”
She says her “feelings were hurt” when Moore County Red Cross officials first told her she could no longer donate.
Barbera is 70 years old and lives in Southern Pines with her husband, Michael.
Until 17 or 18 years ago, I was making regular donations. She served as secretary to various commands at Fort Bragg for 28 years and recognized the value of having a ready blood supply to the military.
However, she started experiencing pain in her wrist and thought she might have arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Tests revealed that these were not the cause. Then she talked to her cousins who have a genetic disease called hemochromatosis, which causes too much iron in the body. Doctors at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital conducted blood tests to confirm the symptoms.
Approximately 1 million people suffer from hemochromatosis, but it is not classified as a disease. Barbera says the initial diagnosis wasn't too alarming.
“It wasn't a scary diagnosis or anything,” she says.
But she and others like her are having blood drawn to alleviate potential symptoms. If left untreated, the condition can affect the heart, joints, liver and brain, Barbera said.
She says her mother and father would have been carriers of the gene. Of the five siblings, Barbera and her younger brother Preston have the condition.
This may be influenced by the Barbera tradition. She is primarily of Scottish and English descent, but also has some Irish blood in her veins. The genetic mutation that causes hemochromatosis, discovered in 1996, has such close ties to Ireland that it has been nicknamed the “Celtic curse.'' It comes from a time when the Irish diet lacked iron.
Initially, Barbera started having blood drawn once a week, then monthly. It is considered therapeutic.
“And now it's every two months,” she says.
She soon discovered that the medical community disagreed about whether blood from patients with hemochromatosis was suitable for donation.
A major barrier for hemochromatosis patients who want to donate blood is that the American Red Cross does not accept their blood. Barbera said he was told he could not donate because it would benefit him and his motives were not “altruistic.”
Blood drawn from patients with hemochromatosis does not contain much iron. The excess iron produced in the bodies of people with this condition collects in organs and other parts of the body.
Barbera's younger brother, Preston, donated blood in Indonesia and served as a missionary after the 2004 tsunami. Orlando, Florida. And also in Charlotte, where he lives.
Lindsey Graham, marketing director for the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center, confirmed Friday that the center does not collect blood from patients with hemochromatosis. The center is highly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which sets donation guidelines, she said.
People with hemochromatosis are considered to be under medical care and their blood is listed as having an “uncertain health condition,” Graham said.
“The blood is fine,” she says. “But if you are receiving treatment, you cannot donate.”
Meanwhile, since the center began appealing for donations during its activities, “the number of donors has been increasing little by little,” she said. However, she added that not all donors know their blood type, so not everyone who comes to donate is type O. She said the task force would return in large numbers next week.
Carol Barbera will be happy to help. She estimates she has shed well over 100 pints of type O-positive blood since being diagnosed with hemochromatosis.
“I've put the fact that I'm an organ donor on my driver's license for the past 40 years or so, or as soon as it says on my driver's license,” Barbera said. . “And I can’t imagine not doing those things.”
Columnist Myron B. Pitts can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3559.
Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center's mobile unit will accept blood donations at the following locations: The center has a critical shortage of type O blood and is often used for medical emergencies where large amounts of blood loss occur.
• Monday: Fit4life of Cameron, 2680 NC Hwy 24. From 3pm to 7pm
• Tuesday: Fit4LifeFayetteville, 2803 Fort Bragg Road. From 4pm to 6pm
• Tuesday: Fit4lifespringlake, 3266 Ray Road. From 4pm to 6pm
• Thursday: On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, 115 Glensford Commons. From 11am to 6pm
