Love family pledges transformative $5 million gift to help improve care for patients with sickle cell disease, reduce disease-related complications

This transformative gift from Ted W. Love, M.D., and Joyce Y. Love will improve patient care for those with sickle cell disease on a local and international level.
Photography provided by Ted and Joyce LoveTed W. Love, M.D., former president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics, and Joyce Y. Love have pledged $5 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine to establish the Ted W. Love, M.D., and Joyce Y. Love Endowed Support Fund for Sickle Cell Disease in the Lifespan Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. This endowment will enhance the center's impact in vital initiatives focused on helping individuals with sickle cell disease live healthier lives with fewer disease-related complications.

"Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, 'Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,'" Ted Love said. "This gift is intended to ensure that sickle cell patients at UAB receive excellent and compassionate care."

This endowed support fund will ensure access to quality, life-sustaining patient care and disease-modifying therapies for all individuals with sickle cell disease in Alabama. The funding will be used to support health care professionals who care for patients with sickle cell disease and develop critical health programs, including funding for mental health services, expanding access to medical therapies, and improving patient education and engagement for patients living with sickle cell disease. The fund aims to ensure comprehensive care for all individuals with sickle cell disease, particularly in underserved communities.

"This remarkable gift from Dr. and Mrs. Love will amplify the Heersink School of Medicine's commitment to transforming lives through advanced care, support and therapies for individuals with sickle cell disease," said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., dean of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. "Because of their support, we are creating lasting impact and paving the way for new hope."

With the funding, the center will dedicate a registry coordinator to enroll all patients receiving care in UAB sickle cell disease clinics in the Globin Research Network for Data and Discovery, a national, multisite registry for children and adults living with sickle cell disease. This will ensure patients are receiving up-to-date screening as well as ensure ongoing assessment of patient-reported outcomes. It will help provide ongoing, personalized support for adult and pediatric patients to ensure they have the education and support to accept and adhere to sickle cell disease-modifying medical and lifestyle interventions that are important in the successful management of sickle cell disease. The funding will support meeting the mental health needs of patients through the development of a comprehensive mental health program to ensure access to pediatric and adult psychiatry and psychology services. This program will significantly improve evaluation and treatment of mood and psychologic disorders in UAB patients, including anxiety and depression often associated with sickle cell disease.

The Loves have been committed to changing the lives of those with SCD for years.With this endowment, the Loves will continue to leave their legacy in the field of SCD research.
Photography provided by Ted and Joyce Love"Our gift is in support of a holistic and compassionate continuum of care for patients with sickle cell disease at UAB that will provide life-changing impact," Joyce Love said.

On an international scale, the funding will be used to engage in a sickle cell disease global health initiative in Nigeria. UAB faculty have a collaborative relationship with a pediatric sickle cell disease clinic in Nigeria focused on providing diagnoses and sickle cell disease-modifying care, as well as maintaining a patient registry to track patient outcomes. Data from a large cohort of pediatric patients in Africa with a high acceptance rate of disease-modifying therapy could help to identify potential complications of sickle cell disease and provide other outcomes data that will help to inform and improve care for sickle cell disease patients in Alabama and beyond.

"The endowment provided by the Love family to the Lifespan Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at UAB will have a tremendous impact on the lives of people with sickle cell disease in Alabama," said Julie Kanter, M.D., co-director of Lifespan Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. "This endowment will increase access to mental health care for people with sickle cell disease and enhance our ability to provide necessary, equitable care across the state, including access to new treatments for sickle cell disease. We are so grateful to the Love family."

The Love family will donate $1 million to the center annually over the course of five years. This endowment is a testament to the Love family's commitment to advancing breakthrough treatments and expanding access to compassionate, equitable care for patients affected by SCD. The funding will be used to touch the lives of individuals with SCD through sustainable, patient-focused clinical care initiatives.

The Loves have been committed to changing the lives of those with SCD for years. Over a decade ago, they set out to cure SCD, and Ted Love became the president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. From 2014 to 2022, Love led the company from a pre-clinical startup in 2014 through its growth to a global commercial company with a pipeline of innovative therapies focused on sickle cell disease that was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2022. With this endowment, the Loves will continue to leave their legacy in the field of SCD research.