Today, I am 15 years old and in 10th grade. At 12 years old I was diagnosed with cancer, shortly before finishing the sixth grade Learning I had T- Lymphoblastic …
Topics: Blood
School Bells and Sickle Cell
In the days leading up to the first school bells sounding, I was busy buying back-to-school supplies, lunch items and organizing weekly schedules. However, there’s one additional step I take …
Personal Trauma Compels Blood Donor to Give Back
Orginally published on redcross.org. I never really understood the importance of donating blood until I was the one needing it. In 2010, a pulmonary embolism nearly cost me my life. …
First Time Blood Donor Fights Fears to Become Lifesaving Hero
Originally published in Chadds Ford Live. When I was in high school, my sister and I would run home from the bus stop, throw our books down on the kitchen …
How This Blood Donor Won Tickets to See New Kids on the Block
Leslie Desmond has never won a sweepstakes so you can imagine her surprise when she listened to a voicemail left by the American Red Cross this summer. After her most …
My Daughter’s Need for Emergency Blood Products Inspired Me to Help
After serving people in need every day as a firefighter for 35 years, I wasn’t accustomed to receiving help. So, I couldn’t be more grateful to the blood donors that …
Donating Blood with Tattoos: Can I Really Do Both?
Back in 2011, I got my first tattoo. A small piece on the outside of my right ankle that represents my relationship with my anxiety disorder, the love that I …
#MissingTypes: Helping Patients in Need
Did you know only three out of 100 people in the U.S. give blood? Yet each day, kids battling cancer, accident victims being raced into emergency rooms, and new moms …
Blood Donations Helped Me Survive Home and Sickle Cell Crises
My earliest memories of sickle cell were at seven years old. I recall stints in Hughes Spalding Children’s Hospital that would seem like an oasis compared to my home life. …
An Honest Contribution: How One Moment Sparked a Life of Service for Troy Miles
In life, everything comes full circle. Troy Miles, Regional Philanthropic Officer for the Red Cross Greater St. Louis Region, is proof of that. Throughout his life, the Red Cross has …