If there’s anyone who knows the power of blood donations, it’s Dr. Danielle Jacks. 

“Every surgery I perform depends on donated blood and without it, we can’t operate, it’s that simple,” says Dr. Jacks.

She is the first female cardiothoracic surgeon at Asante hospital, making history in 2024 by doing the first open heart surgery, with an all-female surgical team. Every day, she and her team perform open heart surgeries, valve surgeries, bypass surgeries and more.

“I operate 6 days a week and do about two heart surgeries a day,” she says.

Not every heart surgery requires a lot of blood, but she can’t even begin the surgery if there isn’t an adequate supply of blood on hand in the hospital in case it is needed. 

A typical bypass surgery doesn’t require a blood transfusion but if there are challenges in recovery, the story is much different.  Some need blood to help them in their healing process. She recalls one patient who needed 14 blood units to recover. 

She feels fortunate because most of the time, they have enough blood to perform these life-saving surgeries, but there have been times when she and her team faced challenges getting blood products for their patients.  One time, she remembers, they had to get a special blood product from as far away as Canada.  It took 72 hours to arrive, and they had to delay the surgery. 

This underscores the need for an adequate blood supply in our country and that is where the Red Cross comes in.  Every year, the American Red Cross distributes more than 6.4 million blood products to meet the needs of patients at about 2,500 hospitals and other facilities in the US.  It is responsible for 40% of the nation’s blood supply.

Unlike other medical treatments produced in a laboratory, blood can only come from volunteer blood donors and must be constantly replenished due to its short shelf life. The Red Cross provides 40% of the nation’s blood supply by collecting and distributing approximately 12,500 blood donations and nearly 3,000 platelet donations every day.  It’s a true collaboration between the Red Cross and health care providers, like Dr. Jacks.

“The are so many patients of mine who are alive because of blood donation and I think if donors knew it had such an impact, that they helped keep a patient alive whose blood wouldn’t clot, I think it would just be nice for them to know.”  

The Red Cross does notify donors where their blood goes within a couple of weeks of the donation process, which is something Dr. Jacks loves. When asked what she’d like to say to anyone who’s thinking about rolling up their sleeves, she says:

“Donate blood to the Red Cross. It’s quick, safe and it saves lives, including the lives of my patients.”

Learn more about Dr. Jacks HERE.

Sign up to donate blood with the American Red Cross HERE.