This Mother's Day, you can honor moms with a lifesaving donation.
It's reported, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood, including new mothers experiencing childbirth complications and grandmothers battling cancer.
“I think we take for granted that you can have a kid and it is safe and it is still really dangerous for women to have children,” said San Luis Obispo native and mother, Emily Peters.
Peters knows first-hand just how dangerous childbirth complications can be.
She describes herself as generally healthy, sailing through a smooth pregnancy in 2016. That is, until moments after her delivery.
“About 15 minutes after delivering my daughter, I bled out. I was taken away, whisked away and left my husband and my sister waiting for six hours to not know what was going to happen to me,” Peters said.
Peters experienced an arterial bleed and lost most of the blood in her body. She was rushed into surgery and received 32 units of blood, which doctors say, saved her life.
“One of the very first things that my doctor said was that you’re going to be okay, you’re going to be totally fine and it’s because of the blood donations you received.”
Peters is just one of so many patients saved by donors who - most of the time - don’t know where their donation is going.
With Mother’s Day coming up, Vitalant is urging people to donate blood - especially for new mothers who experience complications, like Peters.
"If you come out and give blood, you’re spending an hour of your time and your one pint donation can save up to three lives,” said Laura Kanana, Vitalant Donor Recruitment Representative.
Peters enthusiastically encourages donations. “It’s the easiest way to save a life and I think, especially for mothers, it’s a great way to give back to feel grateful that you made it through and to help save other mothers who are coming up behind you.”
Peters said she had the rare opportunity to meet and thank each one of her donors who saved her life.
"I worked with Vitalant over the course of a year to reach out and say thank you to my blood donors. We did an event a year after my daughter was born, where I got to meet them in person and just say thank you.”
This May, Vitalant is urging people to give blood and as a token of thanks, all those who give now through May 25 will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card, or a Vitalant ball cap May 26 through June 1, redeemable via email.
Vitalant has four donation centers along the Central Coast. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825).
