Lane Memorial Blood Bank

BLOOD DONOR MEETS THE BABIES HE HELPED

A little detective work on the part of blood bank staff and members of the Sacred Heart Transfusion Services uncovered the name of a very special blood donor whose blood helped save the lives of two extremely premature babies.

Sean Hahn has O Negative CMV Negative blood, which means he is in great demand as a "baby donor." CMV is Cytomegalovirus, something that about 60% of the adult population has, although they don’t know it. For the safety of the infant receiving blood, the blood must come from somebody who has never had CMV. Infants who are infected with CMV can develop devastating problems, sometimes fatal. Before an infant receives a blood transfusion, the blood is always tested for the virus.

On June 20, 2003, Liane Richardson gave birth to Payton and Logan, very early at 24 weeks and 5 days old. Payton weighed 1 pound 12 ounces while Logan weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces. Babies born so prematurely may not have enough red blood cells to deliver the oxygen and nutrients they need to develop. In addition, many blood samples for testing are also necessary, leading to an increased risk of the babies developing anemia. For this reason, many premature babies receive blood transfusions.

Dr. Igor Gladstone, a neonatal specialist at Sacred Heart Medical Center, determined that the babies needed this help and ordered transfusions to be administered. The boys spent the next 3 months in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital during which time Logan had to spend two months on a ventilator while his brother needed a month with the breathing aid. Finally, Liane and her husband, Mark, were able to take their babies home.

One of the units transfused into the babies (a single unit can be divided into two for babies this small) was donated by Sean on June 2, 2003.

Liane and the twins were able to say "thank you" to Sean for his life-saving donation when they met at the blood bank on July 18. The local CBS affiliate, KVAL, was on hand to film the occasion and to conduct interviews with Sean, the twins (via their mother), Liane, and Dr. Gladstone.