“Special Blood” = Life
Thank you Texas State @SenatorBobHall, for authoring SB125 in Texas’ 89th Legislative session.
Meili and her sister have a rare blood disorder which requires monthly blood transfusions for them to be healthy. Early in their lives, their hematologist told their parents that the children would have a much better chance of thriving if they received directed donor blood. Their parents reached out to their community, and found kind committed donors who rotationally give blood to the girls. They have had the same set of donors for over 10 years. In 2023, the blood bank quietly began denying doctor’s written orders for directed donor blood, not just for these girls, but for every directed donor order written. In the summer of 2023, both girls got really sick from receiving blood from the anonymous blood pool (a fact that was not even acknowledged by the blood bank representatives during the bill hearings). The girl’s parents were finally able to find a different transfusion center that is serviced by a different blood bank who were willing to work with them, but they live with the fear of knowing that their access to “special blood” could be turned off at any time.
Directed donor blood generally tends to be fresher than anonymous donor blood. As blood ages in a bag, there is an increased risk of transfusion related injury, including death, blood clots, multi-organ dysfunction, increased hospital stay time, and decreased oxygen carrying capacity. Additionally, not all blood is equal in terms of quality. For example, the blood of a healthy 20-year-old athlete would be superior to a 50-year-old blood donor who eats a Standard American Diet and is on the typical average of 2-4 medications.