As a producer for 5 On Your Side, I look for stories that will impact you the most. One that’s been a topic of conversation in our newsroom has been the blood crisis and shortage across the country. So, last week, when I needed a blood transfusion, that blood crisis hit close to home.
On Wednesday morning, I suffered a medical incident where I lost a lot of blood very quickly. I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening until I had passed out due to that loss of blood. I arrived at the emergency room at Progress West Hospital and shortly after the nurse told me it was likely I would need a blood transfusion.
I knew my blood type: AB Negative. That’s the rarest blood type according to the American Red Cross.
If you’ve never gone through a transfusion (this was my first) the lab will find blood, test it against yours, then start the transfusion process through an IV. I waited nine hours for the hospital to find blood, test it, and then go through with the transfusion.
Leave a Reply