Palisadian Blood Donors Honored for Life-Saving Gift

Jennifer Calderon nearly died after giving birth to her premature son last April. She required multiple transfusions after losing nearly her entire blood supply from complications during delivery.

At UCLA Blood & Platelet Center Jan. 31, Palisadian Richard McAndrews was one of seven strangers who came together for the first time to be honored for their life-saving donations of blood and platelets.

While confidentiality laws typically keep donors and recipients anonymous, UCLA arranged the rare opportunity for the donors to meet the young woman whose life was saved by their gift.

“The personal pleasure and feeling of great satisfaction, in knowing that we are able to give a little part of ourselves, anonymously, to someone in need, is hard to put into words,” McAndrews said. “Being able to donate blood and blood products through UCLA’s program gives me a wonderful sense of satisfaction, even though the donors rarely get the chance to meet or get to know the recipients.”

McAndrews, who spoke on behalf of Calderon’s donors, began donating platelets when a friend’s son was diagnosed with leukemia.  He regularly donates blood, platelets and plasma at UCLA, and has contributed more than 10 gallons of platelets to date.

Vice Principal of Palisades High School, Russel Howard and several students were also honored for participating in the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center’s mentorship program, recruiting new donors and organizing campus blood drives. The students at PaliHi have collected 875 units since January 2012.

“For the most part, we never know that a recipient could be sitting at the next table in a restaurant or walking by on the street. Although I’m sure they are grateful for our donation, it gives me a sense of great satisfaction and pleasure to know I can benefit someone in need,” McAndrews said. “It also gives me a stronger sense of community and connection to the people around me.”

The community of donors honored at the luncheon ranged in age from 19 to 60 and spanned the spectrum of ethnicity, occupation, religion and gender and have all been regular donators of platelets and blood.

Jennifer Calderon, 34-year-old mother of two, expressed her gratitude for the donated blood, plasma and platelets that saved her life and gave her the opportunity to get to know her sons.

This pregnancy, her second, had issues from the beginning. Although the baby was healthy, Calderon suffered early bleeding throughout the term.

Dr. Tina Nguyen, the UCLA obstetrician who delivered Jennifer’s baby and rushed her to the operating room for another surgery to try to stop the bleeding explained how so many patients depend on life-saving transfusions whether being treated for cancer, trauma, organ transplants or heart surgery.

“You save lives every day. As a surgeon, there is only so much operating I can do without blood products,” Nguyen told the donors. “When it comes to our pregnant patients, your donations are even more precious because of the circumstances surrounding the need.”

In closing, McAndrews said, “I can only urge those who have not had an opportunity to experience this personal joy to contact them, and set up an appointment. The rewards of feeling comfort and personal satisfaction are tremendous.”

To donate blood or platelets, a person must be 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health, not take aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs within 48 hours of donation and be willing to allow one hour for donating blood or two hours for donating platelets. 

To schedule a donation, contact gotblood@ucla.edu or 310-825-0888, ext. 2.