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SOS- Save Our Summer!

Be a lifesaver this summer- donate blood! Our donor centers are nice & cool and ready for you. Walk-ins welcome! Find a location here.

Testimonials

Donors Make A Difference

When you give blood, you give another birthday, another anniversary, another day at the beach, another night under the stars, another talk with a friend, another laugh, another hug, ANOTHER CHANCE! Here are some actual patient testimonies who's lives were saved by blood donors like YOU!

Patient Spotlight: Abron Frye

Abron-Frye7 year old Abron Frye from New Orleans loves Saints football and hopes to be a pro athlete when he grows up. Sadly, in Spring of 2021, he was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Since then, he has received several blood transfusions as he undergoes chemotherapy. Even through the hardships of COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida, Abron’s family sends thanks to God and to blood donors for helping him stay alive and keep fighting cancer! Until he is in remission, Abron is likely to require more transfusions of platelets and blood to counter the negative effects of chemotherapy. When you donate blood, you help ensure blood is available for kids and adults who are fighting cancer in our area hospitals!

 

 

 

Patient Spotlight: Asher & Reed

preemie twins and meg farrisWWLTV's Meg Farris sat down with Asher and Reed's family to talk about their experience last fall and how blood donors saved their lives. Asher and his twin brother Reed were born 12 weeks premature, but Asher was soon separated from his brother in the NCIU as he was flown to another hospital for a life-saving emergency heart surgery. He required several blood transfusions over the course of his time in the hospital, but eventually Asher was able to go home and be with his brother again. Now, as our area faces a severe blood shortage, Asher and Reed's mother urges people to please donate blood to give other families a chance for a happy ending.

Click here to watch the full story on WWLTV

 

Patient Spotlight: Naja

Naja-patient SpotlightNaja is a 16 year old cancer warrior who has been diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia), a cancer that attacks the blood and bone marrow. In 2019, Naja was declared to be in remission but unfortunately relapsed in January 2020. Unfortunately, this means more aggressive and intense chemotherapy is needed to put her back in remission. Chemotherapy works to kill the cancerous cells in the blood, but can also cause anemia, low platelet count (affects blood clotting properly), and other side-effects. Blood and platelet transfusions help Naja by giving her the strength her body needs to keep fighting cancer.

To date, she has needed more than 100 blood and platelet transfusions during treatment and will likely continue to need transfusions as she awaits a bone marrow transplant from her twin brother. Naja's mother thanks blood donors for helping her daughter and urges others to step up and donate blood for people like Naja who are trying to live a normal life.

Click here to watch the full interview with Naja's mom and doctor on YouTube!

 

Thank The Donor logo

The following are actual patient messages sent via the Thank The Donor program. All messages and media are shared with permission. 

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patient picture"Thank you SO MUCH for your donation of plasma. I'm a 34 year old wife and mother (currently expecting my second child) who has asthma. Covid-19 hit me hard and I was hospitalized for 5 days. It was a concerning time! I was worried for my unborn baby and was missing my husband and daughter. It was the longest I had been away from her since she was born! Your donation helped me recover faster, I'm sure of it, and I cannot wait until I can donate my own plasma and pass on this wonderful healing power. Thank you for helping me return home healthy to my family. I'm writing this message with my daughter sitting on my lap, and it's the happiest and best I've felt in weeks."

 

 

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patient picture"Gracias por salvar la vida a mi hijo! nació con 23 semanas de vida y ahora necesita sangre a causa de su prematures, hoy tiene 34 semanas y la sangre lo sigue ayudando. gracias!!"

Which translates to: "Thank you for saving my son's life! He was born 23 weeks old and now needs blood because of his prematurity, today he is 34 weeks old and the blood continues to help him. Thank you!!"

 

 

 

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patient picture"And this bracelet is just in case if you have to get a blood transfusion" the nurse said as she attached a bright red bracelet to my wrist to finalize my hospital admission to deliver our first child. 'Surely I will not be needing any blood,' I remember thinking to myself.

After a full 24 hours of labor, I finally delivered our son into the world. He was perfect and was never in any distress, something my husband and I prayed for. My condition, however, deteriorated rapidly. I remember very little immediately following the birth but one thing that I do recall was hearing my doctor say "She won't stop bleeding". After an emergency and ultimately life saving procedure, I lost 1200 cc's of blood (20% of my total blood volume). I regained consciousness about 4 hours after the birth. The following morning, my doctor told me we needed to go ahead and do a blood transfusion. I looked down at that red bracelet that I thought would never be used and was so humbled to know a blood transfusion was available because someone out there donated some of theirs. I received 4 bags of blood, some of which was from you. My family and I are so beyond grateful to you for your donation. You helped a husband have a wife and a brand new baby have a mother. I was discharged from the hospital the day after I received the transfusion and have made a full recovery. Again, thank you so much for donating blood and helping to save my life. God bless you and your family."

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patient picture "To the donor that gave so that a stranger could survive. Today you have saved my grandmother THANK YOU! We may never know each other but always know you saved a life! "