SALT LAKE CITY — If you’re looking for a way to give to families in need this holiday season, one way you can make a difference is by donating blood.
“When you think about what you can do for families who are going through something, often there isn’t a lot you can do,” said Heather Van Boerum. “But giving blood, you can do all the time.”
It’s been exactly two years since Van Boerum was hit by a car in a Costco parking lot.
“We were talking on the phone when the accident took place,” said her husband, Don Van Boerum. “I heard it, not knowing what was going on. I heard her scream. I heard the sound of metal colliding.”
Both of her legs had to be amputated.
“I had thirteen surgeries. I ended up using 54 pints of blood,” she said.
Don is a trauma surgeon at Intermountain Medical Center. He’s seen how the blood supply can make or break certain cases.
“There have been situations, trauma situations where a patient is bleeding excessively and surgeons are doing everything to get the bleeding to stop where we have run out or there’s just no blood available in the state,” he said.
The need for blood has existed ever since 19-year-old Jonah Gomez was born with two rare blood disorders.
“It’s challenging because I can’t do what normal kids do. I have to restrict myself,” said Gomez.
He needs a transfusion every twelve to fifteen weeks. He almost died a year and a half ago if it weren’t for donated blood.
“Because of this blood, I’m able to have this quality of life I wasn’t able to have a while back,” he said.
Thanks to the sacrifice of strangers, Jonah can make memories with his sister, Ellie, and live life as he should.
“Really it can take seconds, minutes and it’s really simple and easy,” said Ellie Gomez. “The outcome is much more greater than people realize.”
