Mary Esther, Florida
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Brian
Donating is a way for me honor the memory of my father. He passed away in September 2020 from complications with COVID-19 and pneumonia. He was both a kidney and blood donation recipient and required immunosuppressants so that his body might have a better chance at successfully accepting the transplanted organ. Unfortunately, the necessary immunosuppressants greatly weakened his ability to fight the virus.
He received several transfusions and eventually depended on an ECMO machine before finally losing the fight. It is not a happy nor a triumphant story, but I like to think that he never fought alone. Many people contributed to his resilience to live. Donors were there for him in his toughest moments, and that's what I hope to achieve by donating regularly. Donation is a vessel for my help to others so that they might win their own battles through transfusion.