Thanks for Giving!
The following note was an e-mail sent to a few of us at SBC from our dedicated, invaluable resource at Stanford Hospital’s Transfusion Service department. She asked that we share this with our donors and what a perfect time of year to do so. Thanks for giving!
Good Morning,
We just had a patient stop by the Transfusion Service to THANK us for keeping her alive with her blood products and I knew right away this story needed to be shared with the donor center and our donors.
This patient is 75 years old and has JAK 2 positive polycythemia which has now progressed to AML. This patient is transfusion dependent and receives red cell transfusion on a weekly basis. She has multiple rare red cell antibodies and is 100% HLA reactive. It is very difficult to find blood products for her.
We first started providing products for this patient in 2005. In the beginning it was only one unit every few months. Her need has since grown to one unit of red cells per week. Because of different factors, this patient is not a bone marrow/stem cell candidate her life literally depends on blood transfusions.
This patient is one of the most vivacious, positive people I have ever met. She brought us a picture of her husband, daughter, son in-law and her two beautiful grandchildren. She is beyond grateful to the donors who allow her more time with her precious family.
The image you see above is a submission we received for our “Spirit of Giving” photo contest. Click here to enter, now through November 30.