Four years ago, Christina gave birth to her first child and daughter. Although it was a very quick delivery, things took an unexpected turn when Christina had a sudden and severe hemorrhage.
While she understood that such complications could arise during childbirth, she did not anticipate it being her reality. Christina shares that even with two to three units of blood, she was still left severely anemic for about 8 weeks. Without the blood transfusion, she believes her recovery would have been much worse, and her experience has inspired her to give back through blood drives.
“I guess I knew that was a thing that happened but didn’t anticipate it whatsoever and so fortunately, the doctor was able to stop the bleeding eventually, but I did lose about half of my blood in the process,” explained Christina. She added that now, anytime there is an opportunity to donate blood, she always signs up.
Christina and her family know firsthand how giving blood saves lives, and they are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the blood donors. Christina expresses how critical blood donation is for patients like her, adding “It’s terrifying to think that someone can have a particular outcome just because there wasn’t enough blood.” She adds, “People will never think something will happen to them. I certainly didn’t when I was having my daughter. It was my first child and I had no idea what to expect…It was completely unexpected and just could’ve gone so much worse had I not received that blood.”
Christina, who is a professor at Kentucky Wesleyan College, says that when there are blood drives at her place of work, she will donate blood between lectures. She adds, “It’s just one of those things that can make such a difference for someone else, and it takes little effort from you.”
Every two seconds in the US, someone is in immediate need of a blood transfusion, whether it is a car accident, medical emergency, or cancer. Donating blood saves lives, and by donating blood, you are helping patients like Christina. To schedule an appointment to donate, please visit redcrossblood.org.
Written by Thao Nguyen, Communications Intern.