Sean Higgins has donated blood every eight weeks for about 11 years, and he never knew where the blood ended up — until Wednesday.
That’s when the Erie County sheriff’s sergeant met little Evelyn Burkhardt, whose life was saved through blood transfusions. At 4 months old and 11 pounds, Evelyn looked comfortable in Higgins’ arms in the lobby at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.
“I always knew the importance of it, respected the importance of it,” Higgins said. “Seeing Evelyn firsthand like this, seeing a person that actually received your blood, is really a great experience. Here she is. A beautiful little baby. You wouldn’t think anything was wrong with her by looking at her.”
Higgins met Evelyn and her family through Unyts to kickoff the organ, eye, tissue and blood donation agency’s Holiday Heroes campaign. The campaign encourages blood donation in December and January.
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