Photo courtesy of Kris Fuentes
Photo courtesy of Kris Fuentes
Members of Madison Campus, Tenn., Church hosted a blood-drive in honor of Madison Academy alumna Brianna Underwood on March 7, 2022. The day-long event made in collaboration with the Red Cross drew in 44 donors.
Last December, Underwood was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (A.L.L.), a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. She was admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on December 28, 2021, to begin treatment to fight A.L.L. and rebuild her health.
During her first five weeks in VUMC, Underwood received multiple life-saving treatments of donated blood products. As a result, she began encouraging her church community and Madison Academy family to become donors, so other in-need patients could receive blood transfusions.
Hearing her story, Jacqueline Downs, a Madison Campus Church member whose sons had been schoolmates with Underwood, was inspired to organize a blood drive. After contacting the Red Cross, the team decided to do it on Madison Academy’s school grounds.
“This way, the students could be involved with registration and hosting the post-blood donation area with snacks,” said Downs. “The entire event was just full of laughter and support. This was a great way of serving our community and showing our love for Brianna.”
The blood-drive took place from 1 to 7 p.m. and welcomed several volunteers. According to Jason Streger, Red Cross representative, there were 44 blood donors on the day of the drive. From this number, 82% were first-time donors.
“Overall, we collected 39 whole blood units, which have the potential of saving more than one life,” said Streger.
Underwood remembers her time at the hospital in December, where she got multiple units of blood to correct her white blood cell count. She says that as she stared at the screen monitors, she noticed that there was a shortage. Red Cross reports that every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood or platelets transfusions.
“I’m very grateful to everyone who gave blood, especially those who were first time donors or even nervous about donating…,” said Underwood. “I think the main thing I want readers to get from this article is to be encouraged to go give blood locally if they are able.”
Though no dates have been finalized, Downs says she is in contact with the Red Cross to repeat this event throughout the year. To learn how you can donate blood in your area, visit www.redcross.org.
Kentucky-Tennessee | May 2022
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