When Isabella was 2 –years old, she was diagnosed with severe Aplastic Anemia. From the first day she was admitted to the hospital, she began receiving lifesaving blood products. After her treatment, her immune system was severely compromised and for the next several months she needed regular blood and platelet transfusions. Each time she had to go in for a transfusion, Isabella would say that she was getting red or orange Kool-Aid.
Today Isabella is a typical 3-year-old and is responding well to her treatment. She has been transfusion-free since October 2004. “I can’t begin to express in words how much blood donation has meant to my family,” says her mother, Alixandria. “Without the many transfusions she received, she would not be here today. Through their unselfish generosity, blood donors have given my daughter another chance at living a life that every child deserves to live.”