By Carolyn Snyder
Meghan Daily of Redwood City is living proof of how important blood donations are.
They saved her life.
She told her story at the grand opening of the new Stanford Blood Center, hoping to encourage more people to donate.
“I was a healthy 19-year-old. I never expected to need blood. Most people don’t,” she said. “Then I became ill, and things fell apart.”
During a long three-month journey, she was completely dependent upon machines for her survival. She had a rare and life-threatening blood disease known as TTP/HUS (Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura or Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome).
The disease destroyed her red blood cells, and shards of the cells ended up in her plasma, consequently clogging her kidneys. She needed daily plasma exchanges. The plasma pheresis treatments she received took an average of an hour and a half a day, and she used an estimated 17 units of donated plasma each day she was in the hospital. She received 987 units of blood products.
She said she fought an uphill battle for 75 of the 89 days she was in the hospital. She was in the hospital for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and her father’s birthday. She was released the day before her 20th birthday.
“If 987 strangers had not donated blood, my story would be a different one. We are all so thankful that it was there for me,” Daily said.
Today, at 23, she works as a development associate at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. In August, she met 30 of the donors whose blood she received.
Dailey speaks out every chance she gets about the need for blood donations. Among eligible donors nationwide, only 5 percent donate, according to Michele Hyndman, public relations manager for the Stanford Blood Center. In the Bay Area, that number drops to between 3 and 4 percent.
“There are tons of people needing blood transfusions daily, and there are tons of people who will be spending the holidays in the hospital,” she said. “The biggest problem for most people is they don’t expect to need blood.”
She applauds the blood center’s slogan, “Give blood for life!” And you can donate once a quarter.
