Saint Cloud, Florida
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Selena
I have been a blood donor since 2009, when my soon-to-be mother-in-law passed away from Leukemia and I began donating blood as a way to honor her. I discovered at that time that I have one of the rarest blood types, so blood donation became a necessity for me, not an option.
But the reality of just how much blood donation can change lives didn't really sink in until April 2020, when my 5-year-old daughter was diagnosed with A.L.L. Leukemia.
After about her fourth transfusion, it hit me hard: my child needs this blood to survive, and if she doesn't receive it, she will die.
I stared at the bag and realized it came from OneBlood, and marveled at the fact that some stranger had donated that blood just a few days ago, and now here it was, saving my child's life.
The tangibility of that donor's sacrifice, as well as my own when I donate, was not at all lost on me: blood donation LITERALLY saves lives, and I got to see firsthand just how important of an act this is in the case of saving my own daughter's life.