Gift of Blood Saves
Family in Need
It’s easy to forget the importance of giving blood until you or a loved one is in need. Every two seconds someone in the U.S. requires a blood transfusion. Premature babies often need blood in the first hours of life. Cancer patients sometimes require it daily during chemotherapy. Some patients with blood disorders receive regular transfusions throughout their lives. And all of us are at risk for an accident, relying on blood to be waiting in the ER when we get there.
Every Donor Makes a Difference
Columbus Regional Hospital treats patients recovering from illness or injury with life-saving blood supplied
by the Indiana Blood Center. Last year alone, the hospital transfused 2,673 units of blood to patients — an amount requiring 2,753 donors to give blood over the course of a year.
Adrienne Hatton is uniquely aware of the importance of blood donation. Hatton is the manager of laboratory support services for Columbus Regional Hospital. She sees first-hand how blood donation saves lives. She’s also lived it.
Donations Help Family in
Past, Present
At age 11, Hatton’s son Christopher
was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. Christopher's treatment involved intensive chemotherapy as well as frequent blood transfusions. While
the chemo killed off his white blood cells, they were replaced through
the transfusions.
“Donated blood was a rescue medication for Christopher. Without it, he would not have survived,” Hatton remembers. “Thanks to those who gave blood, he is now cancer-free.”
But the lifesaving power of blood is still important to Hatton’s family. Her mother, Joy Dutro, was diagnosed five years ago with a rare blood disease. Every four to five weeks she visits Columbus Regional Hospital for two units of blood.
“After each transfusion I feel so different. I have new energy,” Dutro explains. “Without regular blood transfusions, I would be critical fast.”
Hatton’s reliance on blood donation for her family’s health is unique. But it is far from rare. “Each and every donation is important to someone,”
says Hatton. “So go, roll up your sleeve and donate. Someone, somewhere is going to need it."
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Adrienne Hatton (top)
manages the blood
supply at Columbus
Regional Hospital. Both
Hatton's son,
Christopher, and her
mother, Joy Dutro
(bottom),have needed
life-saving blood
transfusions.
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