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“You Just Feel Better”: How Huntsville Hospital Is Improving Care for Sickle Cell Patients

April 9, 2026 | Reading Time: 2 minutes
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Olajuwon “O.J.” Lewis pictured with three Huntsville Hospital Dialysis employees

When Olajuwon “O.J.” Lewis moved to Huntsville last summer from Mississippi, he was surprised a city known for technology didn’t have a red blood cell exchange program for sickle cell patients.

He tried therapeutic phlebotomy instead, having some of his blood periodically removed to keep his iron levels in check and prevent organ damage. The treatments kept him from getting sicker, but O.J. preferred the way he felt after a red blood cell exchange – RBCx, for short.

A pharmacy tech at Huntsville Hospital, O.J. was thrilled when he heard the hospital planned to start offering outpatient RBCx. He was the very first patient to sign up for treatments, which began in early March in HH’s Dialysis Unit.

“I only switched to therapeutic phlebotomy because RBCx wasn’t available in Huntsville,” O.J. said, “and I didn’t want to have to drive to Birmingham or Nashville.

“When you get that exchange, you just feel better because you have healthier blood flowing through your body.”

During RBCx, patients are hooked to a machine that continuously removes their blood, discards the abnormal, sickle-shaped red blood cells, and adds back healthy donor cells mixed with plasma or saline.

The entire process takes about 90 minutes. O.J. will need to have it done monthly to prevent painful flare-ups, anemia, infections and other complications associated with sickle cell disease.

Dialysis Unit Director Corki Ramaker said her team spent about a year setting up the RBCx program and learning how to use the equipment. The process is similar to plasma exchange therapy which the unit already offers, she said, so the staff picked it up quickly.

Sickle cell disease causes the red blood cells become rigid and deformed. The sickle- or crescent-shaped cells can become lodged in small blood vessels, restricting blood flow and causing a cascade of health problems. It’s fairly rare, affecting approximately 5,000 children and adults in Alabama and around 100,000 nationwide.

Ramaker estimates there are about 50 people in and around the Rocket City who could benefit from the hospital’s new RBCx program.

“Even though it’s not a huge population we’re talking about, it just makes sense for us to provide this service,” she said. “And I’m especially overjoyed that a Huntsville Hospital employee is the first person to benefit from it.”