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It takes a certain TYPE to save lives...
MAIYAH
At two months old, Maiyah received her first blood transfusion. Early on, her family noticed that Maiyah was not gaining weight, and when they took her to the hospital, doctors discovered a hole and a tear on the left side of her heart. The family rushed Maiyah to Chippenham Hospital PICU where her blood count was 2.8. Although she does not know the specifics of her transfusion, Maiyah’s older sister Whitney vividly recalls how “[Maiyah’s] color went from being pale to a beautiful pink.”
Since the initial transfusion, doctors diagnosed Maiyah with Diamond Blackfan Anemia, a rare disease in which the bone marrow fails to produce red blood cells. She received five more transfusions before having heart surgery at the age of two. Maiyah is now seven years old and has not needed a transfusion since her surgery.
To this day, Maiyah’s struggle inspires Whitney, 18, to donate blood and to educate her classmates at Thomas Dale High School about the importance of donations. She recognizes the importance of a personal story to motivate others and tells her friends at school about her little sister’s battle with this uncommon disorder. She says, “I noticed that not many teens were giving blood, and I knew that nine times out of ten if they heard the story from me, then they would give blood because I am their peer.”
Whitney donates whenever eligible and appreciates all the blood donors who help to save the lives of children like Maiyah. When asked about other blood donors, she says, “I would like to tell them ‘thank you so much for giving blood. You don't know how helpful you are to those who really need it.’”
CHRIS
When Chris Nalley was nine years old he was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive track – one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults that may result in early death. He suffered for years until finally he was told he would need a double lung transplant to save his life in 2005.
A year later he received his new lungs, along with 13 units of blood, 7 units of plasma, and 6 units of platelets during the operation to help him survive. Chris is O+, so that means over 26 people helped him survive the operation with their life saving blood donations.
Today, Chris is healthy, is very active in sports and running, is thankful for all blood donors and says “you never know when someone you know might need blood, so donating is very important.”
One in five people entering the hospital will need blood. It is |
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