It’s been over 42 years, but I remember very clearly the day a blood donation saved my life.

I had given birth to my eldest son a few months before my 21st birthday. I was taken to my room, but I continued to bleed for many hours. Eventually I was taken back to the recovery room and from there into the operating room, where some procedure was done. By then, I had lost a lot of blood, so my doctor ordered two units of blood for me.

After a while, my husband came rushing in, looking very frightened. I felt better by then, but the real kicker was the next day when the recovery room nurse came to see how I was. I looked so good she initially thought she’d entered the wrong room. Being young, I had bounced back quickly. Only then did I realize how close I came to possible death.