T-Boz And R&B Group TLC Fight Sickle Cell Through Their Music

Jet, Nov 29, 1999

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, a vocalist in the Grammy Award-winning trio TLC and spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA), continues her quest to raise awareness and find a cure for the life-threatening blood disease which has affected her since childhood by doing what she knows best--singing.

She and group mates Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas are donating 25 cents from every ticket sold on the current leg of TLC's first headlining tour to the SCDAA.

TLC also recently teamed up with the Internet company MP3.com for its Dime-a-Download initiative to raise money for T-Boz's organization. So far, TLC has raised $50,000 for sickle cell research.

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood disorder that is very common among Blacks, affecting about 1 in 600 births. In a healthy person, blood cells are doughnut-shaped and move easily through blood vessels to deliver oxygen. A person with sickle cell disease, however, has crescent- or sickle-shaped cells that are hard, sticky and less flexible, causing them to break and clog blood flow.

When blood flow gets blocked, severe pain in the chest, back and abdomen results. Other symptoms include extreme fatigue, anemia, jaundice, prolonged erections, swollen joints, frequent infections, leg ulcers and stroke.

The 29-year-old Watkins was first diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at the age of 7. She has said that as an entertainer with the debilitating disease, she has learned to smile when she wasn't happy, sing when she didn't feel like it, and do things just to please her fans.

Watkins, who also suffers with allergenic arthritis, hopes to send a message of inspiration by her living example of coping with the disease. "I feel very strongly about the need for people of child-bearing age who might have the sickle cell trait to be tested and counseled," Watkins said. "Education is key to making informed decisions about your future and the future of your family."