Donating blood products takes as little as an hour and can make a lifesaving difference for someone receiving an organ transplant.
Baia Lasky, M.D.
Divisional Chief Medical Officer, American Red Cross
Advances in medicine have increased access to care for a broader patient population. More options and less invasive treatments mean more patients can be treated. Procedures that were once uncommon or limited have become routine. However, with expanded access comes an increased need for blood products to support diverse patients undergoing procedures like organ and bone marrow transplants.
Organ transplants have increased significantly in the last decade, helping to save over 46,000 lives in 2023 alone. However, many of those transplants would not be possible without the support of blood transfusions. Estimates suggest a 5 percent increase in demand per year for blood products that support organ transplants. A single organ transplant recipient may need between 10 and 100 blood products including red cells, platelets, and plasma.
Lilly’s story
Lilly Chambers is living proof that blood donors can make all the difference for those in need of a transplant. At 12 years old, Lilly was diagnosed with an aggressive form of pulmonary arterial hypertension. By September 2023, at age 14, she needed a double lung transplant. Surgeons anticipated that Lilly’s procedure would require one to two units of blood. Unfortunately, Lilly suffered internal bleeding and ultimately required 30 units of blood products. She and her family are eternally grateful to not only the organ donor who gave their lungs but also to the 30 blood donors who helped save her life in the aftermath of the transplant.
Lilly’s father, Greg, shared this, “Without these blood donations, despite her selfless organ donor, Lilly would not be here with us today. It would not have mattered that she had one of the best teams of doctors in the world. It would not have mattered that she is the strongest person that you will ever have met in your life. No matter how hard she fought, Lilly could not do it alone.”
Lilly and her family were so thankful for the blood donors who made her lung transplant both possible and successful that they decided to host their own blood drive to collect enough blood to replace the 30 units transfused to Lilly.
Life-threatening consequences
In the last two decades, the number of people donating blood through the Red Cross has fallen by about 40 percent. When fewer people donate blood, disruptions to the nation’s supply become more challenging to overcome, and extreme weather events, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, compound these disruptions and threaten the blood supply.
Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage and forced thousands of lifesaving blood products to go uncollected. Because blood has a short shelf life and can only come from volunteer blood donors, any disruption that impacts the ability to collect lifesaving blood can have serious consequences for hospitals and the patients they serve.
How you can help
Having blood products readily available can mean the difference between a loved one receiving a lifesaving organ transplant or having to wait. In just one hour, blood donors can provide the lifesaving blood needed for delivery of care and treatment. As a physician who sees the need for blood and platelets every day, I invite you to be a part of the care that makes organ transplants possible by becoming a regular blood donor. It may be your blood that saves the life of a transplant patient!
From vein to vein, the journey of a blood donation ends with hope. Lilly’s life is a testament to the value of blood donation and this reality is best illustrated by Lilly’s mother, Katie: “I can tell you as someone on the other side of these donations, as a mother, these donations save your baby, and that is something you never forget.”
