SALT LAKE CITY — “I was just so floored, I couldn’t breathe, I was pacing, I was so excited!"
Blood donor Donna Mills said she literally had to shake it off after getting the news that she won the grand prize, two tickets to see Taylor Swift in New Orleans, in a blood donor contest in Utah.
Out of 27,000 donors over the past year, there may not be a more perfect winner than Mills. The University of Utah senior is a huge Swiftie and long-time blood donor, so there's no bad blood in this story.
What makes all of it extra special is that Donna will be going to the concert with her donation inspiration, her mom, who had a health issue years ago that required blood transfusions.
Mom and daughter share the same blood type and Donna immediately signed up to donate, but she was only 14 at the time and donors must be at least 16 years old. After waiting two years, Mills started donating as soon as she turned the right age and has been doing so since.
Mom is healthy these days and the two of them not only share a blood type but a love of Taylor Swift.
“Ever since I was little, my mom and I would listen to her and we would sing her lyrics in the car," shared Donna. "She would play a Swiftie song whenever I had a bad break up, and now I’m going to see her, with my mom, which is just so great.”
The Mills' already have their plane tickets and reserved an AirBnb in the Big Easy. But Donna would be remiss if she didn’t use the opportunity to encourage other young people to donate.
“Sometimes [the donation center] will call me and say we used your blood or your platelets to help save someone, and that makes want to cry every time because I’m, like, oh, my gosh, they used my blood, my impact to help save someone like my mom,” she said.
Mills added that blood donation only takes a couple of minutes, doesn’t really hurt and makes a huge difference by saving someone’s life.
