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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Plasma Center

Did you know that April is Immune Deficiency month in Utah??
I actually got the Governor to sign a proclamation saying so. The goal was to have all states declare this. Last I heard there were about 25!  Why? To raise awareness...

During Spring Break the kids and I had the opportunity to visit a plasma center in Orem Utah. They treated us like royalty with a table FILLED with food! I knew they had Emily hooked when she saw the chocolate milk waiting for her.
Our main purpose in visiting the center was to THANK them for what they are doing. We were able to tell Emily's story and explain to them that through one of the medications that is made from plasma, Emily was kept alive for the first 7 years of her life. 
I seriously wanted to hug every single donor in the building! Sadly, privacy laws prohibited this (I am sure that's probably a good thing since I would have scared them a bit!) BUT, we did get the chance to thank a few of them.
It was amazing to see that the people really didn't realize what a GIFT they were giving by donating their plasma. It was so fun to see their faces when we told them our story.


We got to take a tour of the center and wear these cool lab coats. We even got to go into the freezer where they keep the plasma...it was just a little chilly at -40 degrees!!!
I was so impressed with all the steps of precaution that go into making sure the plasma is SAFE for donation. They are extremely thorough, checking, rechecking, rechecking, rechecking and then RECHECKING EVERY. SINGLE. THING!

It was such a wonderful experience for all of us. If any of you are donors or thinking of becoming one, I want to THANK YOU. You will never know how many lives you are saving!!

3 comments:

Kellie said...

What a neat experience! I'm glad to hear that April is Immune Deficiency Month. We fight our own small battle over here with Emmie (which is nothing compared to Emily's fight). You guys are an amazing family and we love you!

Angie said...

Wow way to go Jill with achieving that goal. You are a great example to all of us!!! We love Plasma!

wendy said...

That's pretty amazing and what a great way to raise awareness! Love you!!