Bloodworks 101

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On St. Patrick's Day, 2017, 3-year-old Jane O'Connell was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer. Within weeks, she was receiving regular blood and platelet transfusions. Her mother, Christine says it was like "watering a dry plant." When the O'Connell's family and friends asked how they could help, the answer was simple: donate blood. Five years later Jane is cancer free and as Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager found out, her family now hosts a virtual blood drive so other kids like Jane can get the transfusions they need.

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Dom Carreiro works in Bloodworks' Transfusion Service Lab at Overlake Hospital. Dom and his team are a direct link between our inventory of typed, tested blood and the patients who need it – or at least, their medical care teams. And sometimes things don't go according to plan.

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When our communities need help, "restaurants just show up," according to famed Seattle-area Chef Ethan Stowell. In this episode of Bloodworks 101, producer John Yeager sat down with Ethan as Bloodworks wrapped up its "Savor Life. Save a Life." blood donation awareness campaign and, as you'll hear in this episode, the help from the culinary community "showing up" for patients in need couldn't have come at a more critical time.

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Recently-four-year-old Greyson Ouellette wasn’t even born yet when his parents, Sarah and Brian, found out he had a heart defect. At her 20-week full anatomy scan, Sarah’s care team determined that the ventricle of Greyson’s heart was already significantly smaller than normal size, meaning that he would be born with Single Ventricle Disease (SVD), a rare congenital heart defect that affects just five out of every 100,000 newborns in America each year. Babies born with SVD require surgery immediately after birth, often one or more afterwards and, in some cases, need a heart transplant later in life.

Today, Greyson has had two open-heart surgeries in his only four years of life but is doing well, playing with his older twin brothers and attending preschool.

During all of Greyson’s treatments, procedures, and inpatient stays, Sarah promised herself that once Greyson was stable, she would find a way to families struggling with this rare disease. She believed not enough was being done to advance new treatments and improve outcomes for these kids, so awareness and support of SVD families became her mission. She started putting together care packages for families who’ve just found out their baby will be born with SVD, including supplies necessary for long hospital stays and a heartfelt letter of her own story. She raises funds for this project by selling “Team Greyson” merchandise online.

As one of Bloodworks tiniest patients, Greyson is a reminder that anyone, at any time, might need blood to live. That’s why donating blood is so important.

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message

Recently-four-year-old Greyson Ouellette wasn’t even born yet when his parents, Sarah and Brian, found out he had a heart defect. At her 20-week full anatomy scan, Sarah’s care team determined that the ventricle of Greyson’s heart was already significantly smaller than normal size, meaning that he would be born with Single Ventricle Disease (SVD), a rare congenital heart defect that affects just five out of every 100,000 newborns in America each year. Babies born with SVD require surgery immediately after birth, often one or more afterwards and, in some cases, need a heart transplant later in life.

Today, Greyson has had two open-heart surgeries in his only four years of life but is doing well, playing with his older twin brothers and attending preschool.

During all of Greyson’s treatments, procedures, and inpatient stays, Sarah promised herself that once Greyson was stable, she would find a way to families struggling with this rare disease. She believed not enough was being done to advance new treatments and improve outcomes for these kids, so awareness and support of SVD families became her mission. She started putting together care packages for families who’ve just found out their baby will be born with SVD, including supplies necessary for long hospital stays and a heartfelt letter of her own story. She raises funds for this project by selling “Team Greyson” merchandise online.

As one of Bloodworks tiniest patients, Greyson is a reminder that anyone, at any time, might need blood to live. That’s why donating blood is so important.