We Remember the Tate Family

Last month was National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.  In recognition, we remember the courageous Tate family from Maple grove Minnesota.

The first two daughters of Yalonda and Gary Tate both had sickle cell anemia.  The life threatening disease meant bi-weekly trips to the hospital for blood transfusions and follow up visits for both girls.  People with sickle cell disease have abnormal hemoglobin in their red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen throughout the body.  When the cells are irregularly shaped, like sickles or crescent moons, the cells can get stuck and are not able to carry adequate oxygen throughout the body.  Sickle cell disease is most common among people of African descent.  The only cure is a matching bone marrow transplant.

Madison, the oldest daughter (now 23), had a bone marrow transplant in 2004, which failed.  The doctors told the Tates that a sibling bone marrow match was their best hope.  Since their daughter Olivia was also sick, she was not an option for a transplant.

The Tates decided to have another baby.  They went through in vitro fertilization, testing Yolanda’s eggs until they found one free of the sickle cell trait.  In November of 2005, the Tates gave birth to their 3^rd daughter, Quinnlyn.  At the age of six months, Quinnlyn gave her oldest sister Madison a gift of life.  Stored stem cells from her umbilical cord were used in a transplant, giving life to her older sister.

Olivia (now 19) was also in need of a matching bone marrow transplant.  Fortunately, a 100% match was found.  The donor, Sidnei Barbosa, had registered to become a donor through the Icla da Silva Foundation.  The foundation is the largest recruitment center for the Be The Match registry, focusing almost exclusively on patients with a racially diverse background.

Joining the registry, especially for people from minority communities, is important. Olivia Tate was extremely fortunate to find a match to her blood type, but there just aren’t enough potential donors of African decent on the registry.  The African American community is underrepresented, which makes it more difficult to find a matching donor.  You can register here and help save a life.

Four years ago, Olivia met her donor for the first time at the Icla da Silva Foundations Hope Gala in New York City.  You can view the heart-warming story here:

The Icla da Silva Foundation is holding their 25^th Anniversary Hope Gala on October 18, 2017.  At the Gala, there will be another special meeting between a patient and her donor.  You can donate here to help us continue our mission of saving lives by recruiting bone marrow donors and supporting patients and their families with diseases treatable by marrow transplants.