_{Written by Katherine Liu, Volunteer}

_{All smiles and a positive attitude while Olivia undergoes treatment and blood transfusions!}

Leukemia is a type of blood cancer in which the production of dysfunctional white blood cells in the bone marrow is abnormally in excess. This leads to complications such as a weakened immune system, and increased risk of infections. Most leukemia patients need blood transfusions in order to treat the disease’s effect on their blood. 

A month before she turned four, Olivia Enders was diagnosed with leukemia. In her battle with the disease, she has received numerous blood and platelet transfusions from donors. Determined to give back to the community, Olivia’s mother Sarah decided to contact the Red Cross to organize a blood drive in her daughter’s name. Ever since, she has been holding a yearly blood drive in honor of Olivia on the week of her birthday in September. “These drives are a way for us to celebrate with the community, and the fact that we get to have Olivia for more birthdays.” says Sarah. With cupcakes, balloons, and banners, the event becomes a birthday party in addition to a blood drive. 

Now, at the age of 8, after over 20 blood transfusions throughout the course of her life, Olivia is in remission, the stage where the symptoms of leukemia have disappeared almost completely.

Through the blood drives that her family have held, the donations collected have impacted over 200 lives. Sarah keeps track of this number because she wants her daughter to realize the impact that she has made when she is older. “All of those lives were saved in honor of Olivia’s journey,” she says.

Sarah recalls that when they first started hosting blood drives, many of the donors who showed up were strangers. However, the drives soon became something that everyone in the community was returning to in order to support Olivia and her family. Sarah thinks that it’s exciting to be able to put a face to the impact that donors are making and give a meaning to why people are donating. While many donors at the blood drive initially did not know much about where their donations were going, getting to know Olivia and her story helped them recognize the impact that they were making.

To the members of the community who are unsure about whether to donate blood, Sarah says that it “makes it worth it when you know that you will save somebody’s life–and it goes a long way.” She had never donated blood until Olivia’s diagnosis, but after her first donation, she was surprised at how fast the process was. “A blood donation can take 30 minutes to an hour depending on the type of donation,” she says, “but for me, the actual time the needle is in my arm is around 5 minutes.” She emphasizes that for the amount of good a blood donation does, it is all worth it to her.

_{Big smiles during Olivia’s 8th birthday blood drive.}

Olivia’s family will be hosting a blood drive at the Westland Adult Community Center on Monday, November 10th. Sarah encourages those who would like to donate to come and meet Olivia, who is always at the drives after school.

One blood donation goes a long way. If you would like to host a blood drive in honor of someone or donate blood, please visit RedCrossBlood.Org.