The Blood Matters Blog ·

Because You Answered the Call

When our communities faced an emergency blood shortage, you answered the call. See how your blood donation made a lifesaving difference.

Share
Connor Lloyd basketball uniform

Your Generosity Made a Difference

When Our Blood Institute announced an emergency blood shortage, our communities stepped up in a remarkable way. Thousands of blood donors rolled up their sleeves to help ensure local hospitals had the blood they needed to care for patients across our communities.

Because of you, patients received lifesaving blood transfusions when they needed them most. Families facing cancer, traumatic injuries, complicated pregnancies and other medical emergencies could focus on healing because blood was available on hospital shelves.

While the emergency blood shortage has improved, the need for blood never stops. Blood has a limited shelf life, and patients continue to rely on volunteer donors every day. Your continued support helps ensure the next person facing a medical emergency has blood waiting for them when they need it.

The stories below are just a few examples of the impact your donation made. Thank you for answering the call for help and for continuing to make a difference, one donation at a time.

A Message of Thanks from Dr. Randal Juengel

In this special video message, Dr. Randal Juengel, an Oklahoma physician and member of Our Blood Institute's Board of Directors, shares his gratitude for everyone who answered the call. He also reminds us that while the emergency has improved, patients continue to need blood every day, making a strong, steady local blood supply more important than ever.

Renee's Grandmother Needed Blood. Donors Were There.

Renee Kaiser has long understood the importance of blood donation through her work as a Volunteer Services Coordinator at Our Blood Institute. But when her grandmother was rushed to the emergency room with a hemoglobin level of just 2.9, the mission became deeply personal. Watch as Renee shares how blood transfusions have helped her grandmother recover and why she's so grateful to the donors who were there when her family needed them most.

She Was Asked to Donate. Then She Became the Patient.

When Leslie, an Our Blood Institute employee in Ardmore, encouraged her stepdaughter Khloe to donate blood to help during the emergency blood shortage, neither of them knew that Khloe herself would soon need a blood transfusion. Just days later, she was hospitalized with a dangerously low hemoglobin level and received the blood she needed. Doctors are still working to determine what caused the sudden drop, but Khloe's story is a powerful reminder that no one knows when they or someone they love may need blood.