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Giving Blood

Patient Stories

Dikari Joseph

Dikari Joseph

At two years old, Dikari Joseph began to exhibit symptoms like poor appetite, vomiting and lethargy. At a visit to the ER, he was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease, a hereditary disorder that causes abnormally-shaped red blood cells. These ‘sickle cells’ can block...

Sharee Greene

Sharee Greene

At only ten years old, complications from Sickle Cell Disease caused Sharee Greene to have a stroke. Her mother rushed her to the hospital where doctors discovered she was in need of a blood transfusion. Persistent seizures meant frequent hospitalizations for Sharee,...

Kayla Ann Jernigan

Kayla Ann Jernigan

Soon after Kayla Ann Jernigan was born, she was diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD), a hereditary blood disorder in which abnormally shaped red blood cells cause blockages in the blood vessels. In addition to complications like fatigue, infections and organ...

Elijah Cook

Elijah Cook

A month after Elijah Cook was born, he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia: an inherited blood disorder that causes normally round and flexible red blood cells to become stiff and crescent-shaped. Sickle cell anemia (also known as sickle cell disease, or SCD) leaves...

Janis

Janis

I have been a regular platelet donor for about 17 years following my sister's diagnosis and subsequent death from leukemia. Two of my young grandchildren Kate and Will Boggan (siblings 4 & 6) both had successful bone marrow transplants within their first year of...

George Cretekos

George Cretekos

George Cretekos leads by example. He has a long history of serving others. For 35 years, George served in both Pinellas County and Washington, D.C. as aide to U.S. Representative C.W. Bill Young. He then continued his service in the Clearwater City Council and now...

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...

Kaedyn Ballew

Kaedyn Ballew

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...

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...

Susan Hanson

Susan Hanson

For Susan Hanson of Dothan, Alabama, donating blood is certainly an interest that runs in the family. Her father, a Korean War veteran, first donated to save the life of a fellow soldier who shared his blood type. After that, he continued to give blood, eventually...

Mario Hendricks

Mario Hendricks

When Mario Hendricks was a child, he didn’t know he had sickle cell disease — but he noticed a difference between himself and his friends. “I had friends who played sports all the time, and I could never play,” he said. “I’d be stuck inside, looking out the window. I...