Amy’s Story

My name is Amy and this is my story.

I am normally a very healthy person but in May of 2010 I started to feel sick, different from other times I haven’t felt well. After having blood work done the results showed my liver enzymes were high. I learned that I might have contracted a form of hepatitis or have an autoimmune disease so my doctor ordered more blood work. When those tests came back negative the doctor scheduled a CT scan of my entire abdomen. Those results also came back normal. Still unsure as to why my liver enzymes were high I was referred to a liver specialist.

By June 6th I had become so ill that I never made that appointment. I went to the ER and the doctors decided I need to be flown from my hometown of McCloud to the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) because my liver was failing and my levels of clotting factors was very low which could lead to me bleeding to death. I arrived at UCSF and the minute I got there they ran more tests and put me in the ICU.

We were told I would need blood transfusions so when friends and family asked what they could do for me I asked them to donate blood. I received 70 units of lifesaving blood components while at UCSF.

My liver biopsy revealed 75% of my liver was gone. I would need a liver transplant for sure and was put on the waiting list. I fell into a coma on June 13th, and I was now first on the transplant waiting list. My family received word that evening that a donor liver was found and I received my new liver on June 14th 2010. I woke up from my coma two days later and was able to go home from the hospital eight days later.

It has been an amazing journey so far, one I will never forget. The doctors never did find out the cause of my liver failure. I am one of the 20% that will never know why it happened. But I do know that blood donors and organ donor saved my life. And I am forever grateful.

Thank you donors.

101 Heroes Blood Drive: Jacques Ibula

As strange as it sounds, finding out that he had Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) at age 5 came as a relief for the now 35-year-old Jacques Ibula and his family – they finally knew the origin of his illness. Following his diagnosis, Ibula recalls realizing the difficulties of living with SCD, especially when his family moved back to their native Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The challenges included the restrictions on the activities of this young soccer lover, combined with concerns about the safety of the blood supply he relied on for transfusions given the country’s high HIV rates. 

“The challenges in Africa taught me a lot about the importance of community. My community rallied in giving me blood time after time when I needed it, and the medical support needed to empower me in managing my SCD,” Ibula said. “But with the HIV risk in the country, there was always great concern about the safety of the blood you were receiving.”

However, in 1997, at the age of 21, Ibula settled in the Bay Area. He is now able to take comfort in the fact that he has access to a safe, secure blood supply if he needs it thanks to partners like Blood Centers of the Pacific, Novartis Diagnostics and Oakland Children’s Hospital who work in partnership to ensure that donated blood is properly screened for safety, donor matched and transfused to SCD patients that rely on it.

Increasing the Minority Donor Community

There are more than 80,000 people in the United States with SCD, most of African descent.  Many receive monthly blood transfusions ,  to treat anemia and complications associated with SCD and it is best to receive blood from donors with the same ethnic background.

Today, Ibula who leads “The Jaques Ibula Band” and has been called a rising star by The Music Scene Magazine, is also a Medical Assistant at Oakland Children’s Hospital where he works. He is a staunch advocate for educating young patients through his own experiences and reminding them about the important role minority donors can play.

“I think educating the community, particularly young African Americans, about the importance of becoming a blood donor is essential. But I also think it empowers these young people by offering them a way to give back to their community that doesn’t involve a lot of resources or writing a check.” 

Please join us as we support those who depend on the lifesaving power of donated blood just like Jacques Ibula for our 101 Heroes Blood Drive on September 24, 2011.