Albert Jasso knows how important it is to have donated blood at the ready during a medical emergency.
Jasso’s 11-year-old son, Cam, recently needed blood transfusions while undergoing chemotherapy treatments for orbital rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the eye.
“This time around, we knew it was going to be more intense, it was going to be a little bit harder on him and there was a possibility he would need blood,” said Jasso, of Belle Vernon. “The second or third treatment, he needed transfusions. It just kind of hit close to home. I was trying to figure out what can I do to help this because it directly affects my son.”
Jasso, in partnership with the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region, is hosting a blood drive in honor of his son this week. The event is from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday in the Marion Elementary School gym, 500 Perry Ave., Washington Township, Fayette County.
Cam was first diagnosed with cancer in 2019 after his dad noticed his eye had begun to bulge. Jasso initially attributed it to a basketball injury. But during a birthday party a few days later, one of Jasso’s friends — who is a nurse — suggested they take Cam to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh for testing.
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