RICHMOND, Va. -- George Carter is thriving and standing tall at the age of 77. This is in spite of being born with sickle cell disease, the most commonly inherited blood disorder in the United States.
A true warrior in every sense of the word, Carter has lived well beyond the median life expectancy of 45 years for those diagnosed with sickle cell.
For the last 40 years, he has been an advocate focused on spreading awareness about the disease.
As a result, in 2004 he took on the position as Administrator for Sickle Cell Association of Richmond – OSCAR, a nonprofit community-based program providing services free of charge to sickle cell patients and their families.
When CBS 6 anchor GeNienne Samuels started researching to develop a story to increase awareness about sickle cell, people continuously referred her to Carter.
When she had the opportunity to interview him, she quickly understood why he is well respected in this field, respected by doctors, patients, and their families.
“George has been up on all of the latest research and has been a state advocate to get people tested for this disease.” Dr. Wally Smith, Director of the Adult Sickle Cell Program at VCU Health, said. “George is definitely a super-duper trooper, and we're very, very proud of him. And he's a role model for sure… He has been just doggedly persistent since he took the reins in his organization. When he calls me, I stop what I'm doing and answer his calls because usually he's got something important to tell me.”
James Frazier II, Carter’s friend and fellow sickle cell warrior said, “Every now and then you see these commercials about someone in the community that you need to do a story on. I've always wanted to put George in that list as someone we need to do a story about. He's one of the kindest, sweetest guys you ever want to know.”
Frazier added, “George has done so much that people just don't know about. And he won't tell you either. He will not tell you. He's given scholarships to people to help them with schools. He's helped people pay for their medications and that thing. He's done a lot that people just don't know.”
As a result of the impact Carter has had on the sickle cell community, CBS 6 wanted to give a gift of gratitude and name Carter and the Sickle Cell Association of Richmond – OSCAR as the CBS 6 Gives recipient.
You can help the sickle cell community by spreading awareness and/or donating time or money to organizations like OSCAR the sickle cell association of Richmond or by calling 804-321-3311
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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