Precious Gamble. How ironic that a little girl was born and given a name that just months later would hold more meaning than anyone could have known.

Precious Gamble. A name that described the life of a little girl who suffered from sickle cell disease.

Precious Gamble. A name a select few know because they donated blood for her regularly.

Precious Gamble was indeed a precious, little girl who needed transfusions every month to prevent strokes from sickle cell disease. "Each transfusion took two to three hours. It was difficult, but I knew her life depended on it," said Precious' mom, Priscilla Ketter.

There was something else about Precious that was rare. Her blood. Because of the multiple transfusions, she developed a number of antibodies in her blood that required the donor's blood to be an exact match. It is not as simple as just matching the blood type. And, very few donors matched. Since Precious was African-American, African-American donors were more likely to match. But, African-Americans make up only 10% of the donors.

"I hate to think what would have happened if there weren't people like those who donated for Precious. But, more are needed. One of her transfusions had to be delayed for four days because a donor wasn't available to donate. I encourage all minorities to donate to help those like Precious," said Priscilla. Precious' family thanks those who were willing to donate. Because, each day her life was a precious gamble.

After two months of fighting, Precious died February 21, 2004 following a stem cell transplant. When she passed away her mother stated that Precious' obituary in the paper would not be the last time we would see her name. She had big plans to help keep her daughter's legacy going.

To honor Precious, the family established the Precious Gamble Memorial Blood Drive, now held every July around Precious' birthday. It's a blood drive that continues to bring donors out to celebrate the young life of Precious, and remember the young lives of others.