On Saturday, the American Red Cross hosted several blood drives in Connecticut including in Hartford, Bridgeport and Waterbury to commemorate Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

Over 100,000 people in the United States live with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

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“You’re in and out of the hospital,” said Candace Donaldson, who lost a brother and a sister to the disease. “You’re missing work, missing school. You have aches, pains. The crises just unbearable.”

The disease impacts a person’s red blood cells causing them to become sickle-shaped, which can ultimately make it difficult to pass through blood vessels and result in restricted blood flow.

“It’s a very challengin

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