Sickle cell fundraiser honors ‘shero’ for Women’s History Month

Katie Farthing, Staff Writer

Unity Ride 4 Sickle Cell, an annual fundraiser to spread awareness about sickle cell disease and find a cure, honored Florence Cooper-Smith at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia on Saturday for her work to find the cure, according to its Facebook. 

Unity Ride 4 Sickle Cell introduced Cooper-Smith as their “shero” of the month for her work in spreading awareness of sickle cell and working towards a cure. 

Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder in which red blood cells become c-shaped. This results in blockages to blood and oxygen flow, and shortages of red blood cells, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

One in 13 African American babies are born with the sickle cell trait, according to the CDC.

Cooper-Smith worked at the Medical Center of Virginia campus at VCU from 1953-1955 and then returned in 1972, according to Cooper-Smith. 

Cooper-Smith first became aware of sickle cell anemia when she was 11 years old. She found a book passage in her doctor’s office that read “Sickle cell anemia. It’s found in colored people. You’re born with it. There is no cure,” according to Cooper-Smith. 

“Only four lines. I thought ‘what in the world is this?’” Cooper-Smith said. 

She proceeded to ask her doctors, high school teachers and college professors about sickle cell anemia and most didn’t know much about it, according to Cooper-Smith. 

“I think I was driving people crazy because I was just asking teachers ‘take me to your meetings so I can talk to somebody about it,’” Cooper-Smith said. “They said ‘oh, there she goes again.’”

The best thing she accomplished was newborn screening, according to Cooper-Smith. 

“If you discovered and detected the sickle cell anemia in a baby it would greatly reduce the mortality and morbidity rate as a child,” Cooper-Smith said. “Every child as of 1989, every baby born in the state of Virginia is tested for sickle cell.” 

She is currently trying to raise $1 million to find a cure, according to Cooper-Smith. 

“I’m still warning people not to forget that sickle cell is still here,” Cooper-Smith said. “We still don’t have that cure.” 

During a Q&A at the event, Cooper-Smith was asked about the resistance that she and her colleagues faced while researching and spreading awareness of sickle cell anemia. 

“I’ve never been one to worry about mass resistance,” Cooper-Smith said. “What I’m going to do, I’m going to do.”

Cooper-Smith has been a member of Second Baptist Church for over 50 years, where several members have sickle cell, according to Ralph Hodge, pastor of Second Baptist Church. 

“Being more educated about it has allowed our church to minister more to them and understand what they may possibly go through,” Hodge said. 

Hodge has known Cooper-Smith for over 20 years and she has remained full of energy and passion, according to Hodge. 

“She really is my inspiration,” Hodge said. “91 years young.”

Cooper-Smith is considered the “Mother of Sickle Cell Disease” due to her impactful work, according to Dr. Wally Smith, director of VCU Sickle Cell Disease Program. 

“Florence was a pioneer,” Smith said. “The work that she has done has been foundational to my coming and staying here.”

Cooper-Smith continues to advocate for better care and control of the disease, according to Smith. 

“This is her dream,” Smith said. “She’s one of the few people I know that have been able to see some of her dreams come true.” 

Florence Cooper-Smith is the first African American woman with a professorship named for her at the VCU School of Medicine, according to the Medical Campus of Virginia Foundation website. 

The professorship was founded in 2014 to finance research for a cure for sickle cell disease, according to the MCV Foundation website. 

Smith has been at VCU since 1991 and is the first recipient of the Florence Cooper-Smith Professor of Sickle Cell Disease, according to Smith. 

The professorship was created with the goal of improving research and increasing awareness, according to Smith. 

“The money has allowed us to develop our staff and write research grants and bring millions of dollars into the institution so far to further research in areas of sickle cell disease and care for these patients,” Smith said. VCU Sickle Cell Program launched its first gene therapy patient on March 16 and has previously cured two patients through bone marrow transplantation, according to Smith. 

The program hopes to give people a normal life that allows them to live with their disease but not be controlled by it, according to Smith. 

Their motto is “Celebrate life and lessen the pain,” according to Smith.