September is Sickle Cell Awareness month and getting tested for the trait or donating blood can make a difference.

Natasha Thomas, member services and outreach manager for Sickle Cell Disease Association for America, Inc., said sickle cell disease is an inherited disease that affects red blood cells and can cause anemia and extreme pain, among other problems.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, sickle cell disease is much more common in people of African and Mediterranean descent. It is also seen in people from South and Central America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

“It’s such a complicated disease, and it affects so many people,” Thomas said.

The most common form of sickle cell treatment is blood transfusions.

“There’s been bone marrow transplants that have been successful in curing kids and adults from the disease, but it is not a universal cure,” Thomas said.

The Heartland Blood Center will be having campus blood drives on 3 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Neptune Hall and 3 to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Lincoln Hall.