Often, we don’t realize the importance of something until it affects us personally. Local mother Jill Pendergraft said that sentiment rings true for her.
On Tuesday from 2-7 p.m., Pendergraft is hosting a community blood drive at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church (5664 KY 56). Now in its 10th year, the blood drive has become a way for her to help the Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center (WKRBC) replenish its blood supply while reminding people what a life-saving gift blood donation can be.
Growing up, Pendergraft watched her father routinely give blood. He gave blood so often, he became the highest blood donor in western Kentucky.
“I didn’t really know any different than it was important to give blood to help people if we can,” she said. “I started giving off and on after high school, really because I liked getting free T-shirts. But like many things in life, we don’t realize the importance of it until it really hits home for us in a personal way.”
On January 1, 2014, Pendergraft hemorrhaged a few weeks after giving birth while running errands. She lost so much blood she eventually lost consciousness and ended up in ICU.
“Five days and six bags of blood later, and I was still barely able to walk to the bathroom without fainting,” she said. “Six bags of blood! There’s only about eight bags in a woman’s body, and I got six.”
After that incident, she realized that each of those bags represented someone who chose to be selfless with their time and comfort one day by donating blood.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be alive today,” Pendergraft said. “It could come down to you or a family member needing a blood transfusion to survive and then you realize the heroic act of someone who gave blood to provide that necessity.”
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