Jeannine’s sister, Sharon, has sickle cell disease. She has been hospitalized several times for various complications. During one hospitalization recently, “Sharon’s hemoglobin just kept dropping and dropping,” Jeannine recalls. “I realized I was watching my sister reach the end of her life. That’s when I asked the doctors to check my blood for compatibility.” Jeannine had never donated blood before; she says she just never realized how important the gift of donated blood could be. Now, she wants to encourage others to donate blood. “It may sound like a cliché,” she says, “but donating blood saves lives. Because of my sister’s experience, I want to do anything I can to encourage people to donate blood.”
