DEFOREST, Wis.– 38% of Americans are eligible to donate blood. Just 2% actually do.
One donation can help up to three people, according to the American Red Cross, which is why the humanitarian organization is hoping many Wisconsinites will consider giving today.
Blood transfusions allowed McMillin to spend an extra year of life with her family, according to McMillin’s daughter, Jamie.
Betty was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which immature blood cells located in the bone marrow fail to mature into healthy blood cells. Betty also developed hemolytic anemia: a blood disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made.