Written by Isabel Anderson, Regional Communications Manager

In August of 2024, at just 5 months old, Cohen’s parents noticed a lump on his leg that turned into every parent’s worst nightmare. After months of testing and scans, Cohen was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, an incredibly rare bone cancer that affects 1 in 200 million children his age.

With an official diagnosis, Cohen’s mom, Carissa hoped for a quick treatment plan, but that wasn’t the case. She thought, “It’ll be a surgery and maybe some maintenance chemo or things that can take 3 months, but we kept on getting the worse-case scenario”. The treatment plan consisted of 17 rounds of chemotherapy. These treacherous rounds of chemo were hard on Cohen and his parents, but to their surprise, blood transfusions provided some much-needed relief.

Getting blood transfusions sounded scary to Cohen’s parents until they realized the good it did, “in the beginning, it was so dramatic getting a blood transfusion but at the end, we were looking forward to it because he looked terrible […] we would go in hoping he’d qualify for a blood transfusion.” This process brought color back to Cohen’s face and gave him the chance to be a baby: to giggle and play again.

Over the course of Cohen’s treatment, he had 12 blood transfusions and 8 platelet transfusions. The blood transfusions brought relief to Cohen and the platelets transfusions were used to prevent and stop dangerous bleeding if he had a fall. These transfusions gave Cohen protection and alleviated some worries, Carissa recalls, “the platelets allowed us to not freak out and wrap him in bubble wrap”.

Jordan, Cohen’s dad, and Carissa, weren’t blood donors and didn’t see the need behind blood donations before this terrifying encounter. Carissa explained, “since this has happened, we’re on a frequency as often as we can to donate blood because I think we finally realized that this really matters.” Jordan shared that his fear of needles was squashed when he thought about the impact, “I got a little pinch and I was like ‘you need to throw that [feeling] away because of what your son had to go through”

If Jordan and Carissa could meet the blood donors that helped Cohen, they would say, “thank you for giving our son his color back and his ability to be a kid again. “He was fighting to be a kid and now he just gets to be”. Those donations gave this family an immeasurable amount of gratitude for each donor who rolled up their sleeves.

When Cohen completed his last treatment, he rang the cancer bell, to the cheers of all who were there. Today, his monthly scans show that the cancer has not returned. Cohen enjoys a healthy toddler lifestyle reading books and listening to Willie Nelson and Chapel Roan. Jordan reflected on the successful outcome of the treat, “We have this vibrant kid now because he got the care he needed”.

When Jordan heard about the national blood crisis, he took to social media to share this intimate and emotional story. His social media post garnered many likes and one commenter stated they donated platelets for the first time because of Cohen.

Unfortunately, there are many children just like him who go through treatments where their only hope comes through blood and platelet transfusions. According to The American Childhood Cancer Organization, approximately 15,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. These children rely on blood and platelet donations to help them fight the hardest battles. While we remain in a blood crisis, your donation is incredibly needed to keep blood on the shelves and ready to help support these young precious lives.

To make a donation appointment, go to RedCrossBlood.org.