All blood types needed! Please check here to find a blood drive.

Patient Stories

Kaedyn Ballew

Kaedyn

When Kaedyn was nine months old, his parents noticed his cheeks were swollen and he seemed irritable. After two trips to the doctor and two visits to the emergency room, Kaedyn was diagnosed with leukemia. He was taken immediately to the hospital where he received transfusions of red blood cells and platelets while undergoing chemotherapy.

During those first rounds of treatment he was receiving blood transfusions nearly every day. With the help of blood donors he lived to keep on fighting.

While his disease is in remission and the treatments have stopped, Kaedyn and his mother Shelsie still travel to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville for monthly check-ups.

Related Stories

LaDonna Jordan

LaDonna Jordan

Like many disorders, the effects of sickle cell disease can vary widely from patient to patient. For LaDonna Jordan, the painful and life-threatening symptoms associated with sickle cell disease began at age seven. Her father tried to wake her for school, but found...

The Walkers

The Walkers

Brooke had experienced a completely normal pregnancy until it came time for their birth. By the end of that day, Brooke needed six units of blood, the oldest twin Bailey needed two units of blood, while her smaller little sister Brenna needed a single unit. Brooke and...

Samuel Rivers

Samuel Rivers

Samuel, 40, was born with sickle cell disease, and transfusions are a way of life in coping with the hereditary condition. For the past 13 years, he has received a transfusion every four weeks, and more times than he can count, that blood has come from a LifeSouth...