Teen Leukemia Survivor Meets Platelet Donors Who Saved Her Life

United Blood Services Salutes Silent Heroes

Scottsdale, AZ – United Blood Services saluted nearly 1,000 platelet donors last month for their extraordinary dedication to the community blood program.  Known as “Silent Heroes,” platelet donors spend up to two hours every visit to give the gift of life.  Cumulatively, they donated 19,280 transfusions for patients last year. 

Those who gave at least four times in 2008 were treated to a private event at the Phoenix Zoo in April.  Awards were presented to the 55 most frequent donors, who selflessly gave platelets 22 to 24 times last year in support of Arizona hospital patients. (Honored donors listed by city below.)

Guests at the event had the opportunity to witness history in the making when Kellie Miner, a 15-year-old leukemia survivor, met for the first time several of the platelet donors who saved her life.  Kellie was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in 2004, after the disease came on suddenly while on a camping trip in Show Low.   She was air-evacuated to Phoenix Children’s Hospital within hours, where immediate transfusions of platelets and red blood cells sustained her life.  Since then, Kellie has strung together “beads of courage” to represent each of the 131 lifesaving transfusions she required.

Platelets Across America organizer Al Whitney traveled to make a special appearance at the Silent Heroes event.  In an effort to raise awareness for the need for platelet donations, the Ohio resident and long-time blood donor is making his way across the U.S. with the goal of donating platelets in all 50 states.  With more than 600 platelet donations to his credit, United Blood Services is honored to host Whitney when he puts Arizona on the map as his 25^th state.

Platelet donors provide the clotting factor in whole blood that controls bleeding for trauma, cancer and aplastic anemia patients.  In the past, one complete platelet transfusion for a patient often required numerous donors.  Today, through a process known as apheresis, more than six times the amount of platelets can be donated, allowing each donor to give a complete transfusion. 

According to Audrey Jennings, Executive Director for United Blood Services/Arizona, every platelet donor provides a gift to patients without expecting anything in return. “Each compassionate donation demonstrates that platelet donors have hearts of pure gold,” Jennings said.

Platelet Donor Award Winners
55 Donors Provided 1,276 Lifesaving Transfusions for Arizona Patients

24K Gold Award: 24 Platelet Donations in 2008
22 Donors Provided 528 Transfusions

• Kevin Bergner, Scottsdale
• Harold Bixler, Jr., Peoria
• Sylvia Bonertz, Peoria
• Phillip Brown, Mesa
• Norma Buckwald, Phoenix
• Anthony Delrosso, Jr., Scottsdale
• Richard Fite, Phoenix
• John Getchell, Phoenix
• John Hall, Phoenix
• Timothy Hall III, Chandler
• Steven Hartin, Mesa
• Scott Hendrickson, Chandler
• Bernard Hill, Scottsdale
• Leeo Hill, Phoenix
• Clancy Jayne, Phoenix
• Bradley Lagers, Scottsdale
• Tony McCutcheon, Phoenix
• Thomas Ratcliffe III, Glendale
• Vergil Roberts, Phoenix
• Carol Sedlow, Sun City
• Wayne Shippy, Tempe
• Cynthia Stefanovic, Glendale

23K Gold Award: 23 Platelet Donations in 2008
22 Donors Provided 506 Transfusions

• James Pence, Phoenix
• George Allton, Mesa
• Terry Arden, Glendale
• William Beck, Phoenix
• Edward Blake, Gilbert
• Robert Brost, Scottsdale
• Linda Brown, Glendale
• Thomas Curry, Phoenix
• George Gee, Chandler
• Stephen Kulp, El Mirage
• Victoria Linkey, Mesa
• Diane MacIvor, Phoenix
• Maxwell Morton, Mesa
• Barbara Ratliff, Scottsdale
• Wendy Sahr, Peoria
• Michael Schwartz, Glendale
• William Scott, Scottsdale
• Edward Shroka, Sun City West
• Bonnie Skalicky, Scottsdale
• Ward Triplett, Peoria
• Gerald Wakeley, Apache Junction
• Judith Whitehead, Phoenix

22K Gold Award: 22 Platelet Donations in 2008
11 Donors Provided 242 Transfusions

• Lawrence Anders, Phoenix
• Norman Bosshardt, Gilbert
• John Brooker, Glendale
• Mark Brummel, Peoria
• Herbert Dreiseszun, Phoenix
• Linda Molnar, Glendale
• Patrick Phillips, Phoenix
• Kenneth Richter, Jr., Glendale
• William Rowell, Peoria
• William Toops, Peoria
• James Van Dyne, Phoenix

Submitted on behalf of United Blood Services
United Blood Services has been Arizona’s non-profit community blood provider since 1943 and serves patients in approximately 50 Arizona hospitals. The UBS network is one of the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit blood service organizations, and is a founding member of America’s Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks. For more information on how to Find the Hero in You, please call 1-877-448-GIVE (4483) toll-free or visit www.UnitedBloodServicesAZ.org.

Technorati Tags: Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Al Whitney, Kellie Miner, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Platelets Across America, Silent Heroes, United Blood Services