The Charles Drew program in Missouri: a description of a partnership among a blood center and several hospitals to address the care of patients with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder which can be complicated by stroke in infancy and childhood. The primary and secondary prevention of stroke in this patient population is regular RBC transfusion therapy at least every three weeks, but there is no consensus on the ideal RBC transfusion therapy. The Charles Drew Program, a partnership among a blood center and several hospitals affiliated with academic medical centers in Missouri, provides RBCs for the care of patients with SCD. There are three basic aims: the RBC components are phenotypically matched on three minor RBC antigens, the units are less than 7 days old, and each patient has a limited number of dedicated donors, so that the donor exposure is minimized. This report describes the operational phases of this program and summarizes its performance with respect to each of these aims.