Philadelphia woman is one of nation's oldest living sickle cell patients

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A woman in Philadelphia's Mount Airy neighborhood is believed to be one of the oldest living patients with sickle cell disease in the country.

Joan Lambright, 83, has spent her entire life defying the odds. Born in 1939, she was told she wouldn't survive her teenage years after being diagnosed with sickle cell anemia.

"Your blood cells are round and mine are sickle. When my blood sickles, they clunk together," Lambright explained.

She says the condition causes unbearable pain but it was misunderstood throughout her childhood.

"I knew there were some days where I could run and jump like any other child and some days I was in the bed at home, or sometimes in the hospital," she said.

The CDC now says that 1 in 13 African American babies is born with the trait for sickle cell disease.

For Joan, understanding the disease has been a lifelong battle.

"If I'm unhappy, if I have moments of depression -- that can trigger a crisis," she said.

In that crisis, she says the pain can be so extreme in a body part, she can't move. When a situation like that happens and she goes to the hospital, she often needs a blood transfusion to live.

She credits the Red Cross and donors for her life.

"Actually each time they save a piece of my life. Each time they give me a chance to live again," she said.

She's become an advocate for her own health, working with the Red Cross to encourage people to donate blood.

"I accept blood from any race, however, my body absorbs the blood better and it is compatible with those of the same race," she said.

In becoming one of the oldest living Sickle Cell Disease patients in the entire country, she has a lot of people to thank.

"When my time comes, that'll be alright because I've lived, and I've only lived well because of blood," she said.

You can sign up to donate blood at the 6abc Philly Blood Drive in either Philadelphia or South Jersey. Click here to learn more.