Testimonials - World Blood Donor Day 2013

Robin's Testimony

Robin Sánchez, a Venezuelan citizen, tells the story of his father, Robín A. Sánchez, who was beneficiary of a blood donation (Original in Spanish)

Suddenly, two years ago, my 54 year old father, Robin A. Sanchez suffered a drastic fall of his red blood cell levels to 3 million cells/mcL., pouting his life at risk. Our doctors asked us to urgently locate eight O- blood donors to compensate his very low hemoglobin levels. In such a desperate situation we spent a week looking for donors, which became impossible until we got the Caracas Municipal Blood Bank's help through PAHO.

After receiving the transfusion he was subjected to further tests where it was discovered that he had Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, which meant that we where only at the beginning and had a long way to go before recovery. During the following year my father was periodically transported to the hospital (through emergency) to receive blood transfusions, which helped him avoid the risks caused by having extremely low hemoglobin levels.

Today; two years after that nightmare, thanks to the collaboration of all those men and women that selflessly, voluntarily and with no interest of gaining anything in exchange go each day to the blood banks to donate a little bit of life to the people who are in a difficult and unexpected period of their lives; my father leads a completely normal live and has the will to continue fighting.

Heroes are not only those who fight or combat for the freedom of the nation: there are heroes that help to give life and maintain the will of those who are in a difficult moment of their lives.
 

"Thank you for being a part of my life, thank you for giving me hope, for giving me the opportunity to keep enjoying, to know my grand children, to see the true value of life; thank you, simply thank you, because through your donation you gave me life, thank you because, without knowing me, you decided to be the hero/heroin of my life and my family"

Luis' Testimony

Luis A. Vidal, a Venezuelan citizen, tells us the story of his mother Ms. Maria Ester Serodio de Vidal, which was beneficiary of a blood donation (Original in Spanish)

In November 2007, my mother had problems of cardiac arrhythmia that demanded a catheterization. Unfortunately, the incision point, in the area of the groin, did not cicatrize well and, a few days after the operation, my mother's hemoglobin levels started to fall very fast because of internal bleeding.

The doctors started to give her blood transfusions frequently. At that moment we contacted through PAHO Lía Talavera (Coordinator of the "Bancos de sangre del Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Salud), who immediate helped us.

Through this experience I wanted transmit, firstly the excellent disposition of the organizations involved in this process and our eternal gratitude for their attention, but over everything else, the importance of donating blood. I wanted to transmit, the value to society of all the men and women that selflessly and voluntarily go to the blood banks donate a little life to those that are going though delicate moments of their lives.

At that moment the beneficiary of that help was my mother (and with her my entire family),but tomorrow the beneficiary could be any family member or loved one.

Germania's Testimony 

Germania Padilla Marmolejos. A PAHO employee in the Dominican Republic and beneficiary of Voluntary Blood Donations. (Original in Spanish)

November 11th of 2000, I was injured in a serious car accident caused by a driver under the influence of alcohol, which caused the displacement of my femur, a rotation of my hip in three different points, a division in two of my pelvis, and a serious affection of my femoral vein. I was subject to a chirurgic intervention in my delicate state caused by a sever blood loss, for which it was necessary to perform the transfusion of 10 blood units. During my treatment a second chirurgic intervention was necessary, which called for additional transfusions. Today, even if I live with a prosthesis pelvis and suffer of cervical vertebra problems, I attest that thanks the blood donations I was given, I am still alive personas, mi vida fue salvada.

Iris' Testimony

Iris Soveida Padilla Durón, citizen of Honduras, employee of PAHO in Honduras , who was beneficiary of a blood donation (Original in Spanish)

I am Iris Soveida Padilla Durón from Honduras and I am 51 years old. When I was 22 years old I was diagnosed with Medullary Aplasia for which I was subjected to several blood transfusions in Honduras; the donors were my family members (cousins, uncles, close friends, my comrades and unknown donors), and thanks to all those generous donation I survived.

During the next four years I stabilized and even if my blood levels were not normal they were acceptable and I didn't need transfusions. I took a drug, Oximetalon, an androgen that stimulates the bone marrow to produce blood.

In 1987 I got pregnant and from the third month I got three blood transfusions ever 20 to 25 days, my child Milagro Alexandra was born, after eight months of pregnancy, the 17th of June of 1988 in Houston, I had to get large transfusions of red blood cells and platelets during delivery. After a month of her birth I had a relapse and had to get more transfusions. Furthermore six months after childbirth I was subjected once more to Oximetalon treatment in Houston.

At each and every one of my birthdays or my daughter Milagro's I asked to be allowed to see her one more year, I remember that in-between all those wishes I asked to see her first birthday, her first school year, her sixth grade, her fifth birthday, her high school graduation and her college graduation (the 15th of December 2012) and till now each and every one of my wishes was granted, for which I can say that I fill fulfilled and thankful.
The road has been long but every time that I had a relapse and needed to survive I got a transfusion. My lost severe relapse was in 1998 and I got three transfusions. Before that, in 1990, I was diagnosed with hip head necrosis because of the excessive use of steroids in my US treatment, for which I was subjected to the decompression of my right hip without the need of any transfusion. Nowadays, doctors define my condition as Hypoplasia of the bone marrow and since approximately one year and a half or two years I cannot use the drug, my blood levels have decreased since but they allowed me to be well until today.

From my personal experiment I can say that Thanks to God, My family and the donations of each and every person that appeared in my moments of need I was allowed to keep living. Today I can say that thanks to the generosity of others I live every day as if it was a gain and I allow myself to give my time , support, presence and help in every independent case with the conviction the my life has been a gift.

Claudia's Testimony

Testimony of Claudia Calderon, employee of PAHO in Chile, a voluntary blood donor (Original in Spanish)

Since the earthquake of Chile 27/F, I am a voluntary blood donor in the Posta Central de Santiago (corner of Portugal with Diagonal Paraguay). My blood group is 4RH negative, I should go every four months but I didn't go this year because I donated blood, in January, to a family member in the German Clinic. However now I could donate again because it has already been 4 months since my last donation.

I chose Posta Central because they get the most emergencies and the people with fewer resources. Being a blood donor pushes you to be more careful with your health, avoid tattoos for example, or not consume drugs specially when there is a needle exchange, or be responsible in your sexual life, or not have any tendencies towards tobacco or alcohol, and specially inform the doctors if you had any of the illnesses indicated in the formulary completed prior to your donation, etc.

You have to be honest when filling up the form and in the interview with the doctor.

Carmen's Testimony

Testimony of Carmen De Urioste, a Bolivian citizen and a voluntary blood donor (Original in Spanish)

"Blood donating is, in my opinion, the easiest act a human could perform for another… you sit down, they poke you and you leave, that's all there is to it… and you helped someone!!! And the laboratory employees or the Blood Bank employees thank you dearly, as if you were doing a heroic act… it's that easy, it doesn't hurt, it takes barely any time, and on top of that you leave as a hero…. It's a pleasure! Knowing that you helped someone with your blood is priceless! For everything else there is no MasterCard but there is still health".

Testimonio de Daysi

Daysi J. Vasquez M. A PAHO employee in the Dominican Republic and a Voluntary Blood Donor.  (Original in Spanish)

What motivates me to donate blood is to know that through this simple act I can save a life, I can bring happiness to an entire family, or I can contribute to a mother's ability to enjoying the benefit of seeing her children grow. I am also inspired by the fact that with my example I can motivate other people to donate and save lives. I am very pleased by the fact that the people that know that I am a voluntary donor become heroes, themselves, saving lives. The blood that we donate has no price, your economic or social status do not matter. I have seen proof that, when you need blood, only an act of love can help you.

Julio's Testimony

Julio Marchante. A PAHO employee in Cuba and a Voluntary Blood Donor (Original in Spanish)
 

Mr. Marchante has realized 76 plasma donations to the Provincial blood Bank of the Habana.
This plasma will be used of a specific Gamma by the pharmaceutical industry.

The drugs developed from this plasma are then donated to some of my coworkers that contribute to the health of the Pan-American people, like Mr. Marchante, a great donation champion!

Marcos' Testimony

Marcos Jiménez, a PAHO employee in El Salvador and a voluntary blood donor

In my opinion blood donation is and act that everyone should perform, if no health issue or risks keep us from doing it. For me, donating blood is a very satisfactory action, because I have already seen how it helps someone, and I have already saved someone without knowing him/her or except anything in exchange.

I haven't had any problems or doubts in blood transfusion when I needed it. And thanks to the voluntary donors in PAHO, the presence of extra donors to replenish the blood that I was going to need was not needed. Also, I think that the people working in the Blood Banks are very professional and have the skill needed to manage both blood and people.

I have a message for all the people that can donate blood to save lives: "Don't fear doing it, in the contrary, its very beneficiary for your health and you'll be very pleased to be saving one or more lives".

Raúl's Testimony

Raúl Montesano Castellanos, a blood donor and employee in the PAHO office of Paraguay, has a mother that benefited in the past of blood donations (Original in Spanish)

Nearly three years ago, my mother was taken into the city hospital and I was requested five blood bags, in prevention of what would be needed for her treatment; I had very little time in the country and not many friends, so I suggested to my coworkers in the PAHO PWR that we should do a internal blood donation campaign: the reaction was sensational, 30 bags of blood were collected in that occasion and this event was institutionalized in our office.

Every year, we have two or three blood donating events with very good results and we are among the institutions with the largest group of permanent voluntary blood donors of the country.

José's Testimony

José María Parisi, PAHO employee in the Washington DC., office and voluntary blood donor

I have been a voluntary blood donor for a long time, after I was of help in an emergency solidarity event in secondary school.

A boy in my school had suffered an accident and was in a very delicate state in the regional hospital in another town, 130 km away from our town. Faced to the difficulty to find donors of his same blood group, a group of six people, among which I was, were transported in communal car to the nearby city. I remember being very nervous and impressed but I didn't suffer at all. That was my first experience as a blood donor. 
However, at that point I didn't feel the degree of solidarity that I felt after I saw, in a television program, one day, how needed was his blood group and factor. Then I started to think about the precedent cases, where the blood donations would have gone to a blood bank or to add to the blood needed for a patient's operation. Now the donations would be much more direct and the donor could even have the opportunity of meeting the receptor of his donation.

From that moment on, I have been a voluntary blood donor without interruptions and have donated blood more than 30 times when my particular blood type was needed; I got to meet a great number of clinics and hospitals of Buenos Aires and its surrounding area.
I moved to Washington DC, in the year 2000, to work at PAHO where I got to meet, among others, people from the Blood Program. From then on I started to collaborate with the Malaria program, which forced me to donate in a much more discontinuous manner because of my frequent trips to Amazonian countries, limiting my ability to donate to my vocational trips to my native country.

Some time ago while I was, in company of my wife, in a church of Buenos Aires we learned that the group B+ was needed for an old woman of the community. I was supposed to flight back to Washington, DC. the next day, and we went as soon as possible to register for the donation. A month later a box of chocolates arrived to our house with a thank you note from the old woman for the humanitarian gesture. I then decided that I wanted to meet her and went to the address marked in the note on my next trip but I wasn't lucky, I was told by her neighbors that she had passed away. 

I am a voluntary donor, and after every donation I feel joy and the satisfaction of having accomplished my duty. I have the luck of being healthy never having gotten any transmissible illness, for which I recommend every person that has similar conditions to proceed in a similar manner. 

Mónica's Testimony

Mónica Duque de Jarrin, a PAHO employee in Ecuador, tells us the story of her niece Maissa, a blood donation beneficiary, and her son, Rodrigo Eduardo Jarrin Duque, a voluntary blood donor.  (Original in Spanish)

I have an eight year old niece that suffers of leukemia, her name is Maissa and she is a marvelous being, pure and courageous that is fighting against her illness with fortitude and an enormous will to live.

We learned about her illness September 2012 and since that day the entire family is going through this challenging test of our lives. Her parents, Cristina and Diego, and her fifteen year old sister, Daniela, are admirable people that never surrendered continuing to fight; they take care of her, love her with all their hearts and are always with her desiring desperately her recovery. They seek support in their family and in God, and we are sure the all their effort and sacrifice against these challenging times will make them victorious.

Maissa that is now subjected to chemotherapy treatments in SOLCA, an institution that has our deepest admiration for all it does for the children of this country, receives blood donations from the members of her family that are able to donate and platelets only from male members.

My 23 year old son, now a voluntary donor of platelets, is willing to donate when needed and donates for everyone. Furthermore what makes me very proud is that even if it's not only for his cousin he continuous donating. He got called from SOLCA one day to aid a person that was in intensive therapy and he selflessly helped.

I think that all human being have to make a solidary commitment, take conscience of how valuable a little of our blood could be for another human being, and be of help because it really isn't that much effort, we need to support one and other and you can't imagine the satisfaction you will feel having the possibility of saving a life, it will so great that you will want to do it again.

I think that when you leave something so deep and so close, it revolves you conscience and you never dare think again that saving a life has a price!!!