Students Claim Blood Drive Comments Offensive

Students at a local high school say they were offended and confused by what a Red Cross worker told them while they were donating blood at their New Jersey school. They were so upset that when they got home they told their parents about it. When they couldn’t get any answers from Red Cross, they contacted the NBC10 Investigators. Harry Hairston interviewed three of the students who were say they were upset by the remarks.

The students say, the American Red Cross worker told them if they wanted to give two pints of blood they could, because they were African American. The worker said their blood could be given to “the little black kids in Africa.” Montaya Marshall, a junior at Penns Grove High School tells Hairston she was offended by the comment. But the Red Cross tells the NBC10 Investigators that none of the blood they collect even goes out of the Penn Jersey region.

Montaya’s mother, Cynthia Hudson, says she contacted the American Red Cross herself to get answers. They told her that African Americans are often asked to give more blood to help fight sickle cell anemia, which is a disease more prominent among African Americans. However, the Red Cross could not explain the part about sending it to the kids in Africa, Cynthia says.

When the NBC10 Investigators contacted the American Red Cross of Philadelphia, they said they were investigating the complaints. A week later, they issued a full statement which can be seen below.

The Penns Grove Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Massare says their school district wants to know exactly what was said, and they won’t tolerate any racist or offensive comments. They say they’re working with Red Cross to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, they are offering counseling to students who were offended by the comments. The American Red Cross says they can’t substantiate that the incident even happened. They also add they want everybody to know that blood donations are an absolute necessity especially during the winter season when blood supplies are traditionally low.

Here is the entire statement by the Red Cross:

The American Red Cross fully embraces inclusion, and actively works to build diversity awareness and sensitivity among its staff and volunteers.

After the Red Cross was notified of the concerns about remarks made at the Penn's Grove High School Blood Drive on November 1, 2011, we immediately looked into the matter and were not able to substantiate the accusations. On the contrary, our workers noted the positive turnout for this special collection which encourages African American donors -- the ethnic group most affected by Sickle Cell Disease, to donate.

Sickle Cell Disease affects 1 in 12 African Americans, or approximately 70,000 people in the United States. While there is no cure, the painful symptoms of this disease can be prevented by regular blood transfusions.

Blood products that are collected here in the Penn-Jersey Region remain in the region and are redistributed to the approximately 100 area hospitals that we serve.