Red blood cells carry markers called antigens on their surface that determine one’s blood type. There are more than 600 known antigens besides A and B. Certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. Therefore, it is essential that donor diversity match patient diversity. For example, U-negative and Duffy-negative blood types are unique to the African American community. People with sickle cell disease and these blood types rely on blood donors who are Black when they need a transfusion.

When blood is phenotypically matched (i.e., close blood type match), patients are at a lower risk of developing complications from transfusion therapy. For this reason, it is extremely important to increase the number of available blood donors from all ethnic and racial groups.