"Blood transfusions saved Charlotte's life"
When his daughter Charlotte was born
prematurely, Alasdair Low, 41, felt helpless as his baby girl was
given a series of life-saving blood transfusions
"Giving blood is something I used to always think about doing
but never quite got around to. I'd see adverts campaigning for
donors and, if I'd been asked, I'm sure I could've
recited how and why it is so important to give blood. But it
wasn't until I had to watch my baby girl, Charlotte - who was
born 16 weeks early - undergo eight blood transfusions in her first
few weeks of life to correct anaemia of prematurity, where the iron
levels in red blood cells are low which makes it more difficult for
oxygen to travel around the body, that I truly realised how vital
it was.
"My partner Samantha, 39, and I were beside ourselves when
we were told she would need transfusions. It was a terrifying time
for us; our baby had been born so early and was so small - just the
size of my hand - it was hard to think of her going through
something most adults would find hard to handle.
"I'll never forget the day Samantha told me she was
pregnant. It was 22 February 2007 and I'd just pulled up
outside the house after work when she came running to the front
door and blurted out that she was expecting. I couldn't believe
it - we were both so happy and excited.
"We couldn't keep the news to ourselves and, instead of
doing the usual and waiting until we reached the 'safe'
marker of 12 weeks, we called our families straightaway to tell
them the good news.
"Samantha's pregnancy was fine, she felt - and looked -
blooming. I think that's why we thought it was so weird when
she woke up complaining of pains in her tummy in July 2007. She
told me not to worry and we both went off to work as normal, but
just a few hours later at 11am, Samantha called me to say our
midwife had referred her to Frimley Park Hospital. I met her at the
hospital and there we were told Samantha was in labour. She was
only 24 weeks pregnant.
"Unfortunately, Frimley Park lacked the facilities to deal
with a baby being born so soon and we were transferred to St
Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth, which was a 1½-hour drive
away from home.
"We saw various consultants over the next 72 hours, who
explained that the baby had only a 20 per cent chance of surviving
the birth and then a 30 per cent chance of surviving to be healthy.
It was almost too much to take in and we both cried our eyes out.
"At 1.30pm on Sunday 15 July 2007, Charlotte was born and
within seconds, was whisked away from us into an incubator, hooked
up to a multitude of tubes and taken to the neonatal intensive care
unit on the other side of the hospital. Our daughter was gone and
we didn't even know what condition she was in.
"Just minutes later Samantha began shaking violently -
she'd gone into septic shock as the placenta had broken apart
inside her and was poisoning her - she had to undergo surgery to
have it removed immediately. During surgery she also developed
breathing problems, and a blockage in her lungs was discovered.
"I spent a nervous few hours outside the operating theatre
and a sleepless night watching over Samantha in intensive care - I
really thought I was going to lose both my girls that day and
didn't know how I would go on without them. Thankfully,
Samantha pulled through and was out of intensive care by the
following day.
"That's when we went to see Charlotte for the first
time. It was so emotional, she weighed just 1lb 9oz; I had never
seen a baby so small. Her skin was transparent and looked like that
of a little old lady, all wrinkled and skinny. We could see her
ribcage; she had no fat on her body.
"But, even with all these feelings going on, we had nothing
but love for our tiny little baby and quickly forgot about all of
the pain of the previous 72 hours. She was our little miracle.
"Charlotte spent 98 days in special care, during which time
she had her fair share of trials including a heart murmur,
infections, meningitis and anaemia of prematurity. To look at her
now I can hardly believe it, she's a bouncing 18 month old with
the most beautiful smile in the world.
"If the blood she needed hadn't been available she might not be with us now. That's why I now give blood as regularly as I can, especially over the festive period. Most people have their minds on other things then and stocks run low, putting babies born too soon or too sick, like Charlotte was, at an even greater risk."
Together they will be launching a Christmas campaign to highlight how blood donors play a vital role in helping to provide the right care for sick and premature babies.
Last year alone, the Service issued over 50,000 units of paediatric whole blood and nearly 12,000 units of paediatric platelets to neonatal units throughout the country.
For more information visit www.bliss.org.uk
- Premature babies can have a low platelet count for many reasons such as infections or maternal health problems during pregnancy. A baby with a very low platelet count may be at risk of severe bleeding problems, a brain haemorrhage being one of the most serious complications, so they can need many transfusions over the course of their recovery period
- Platelets have a shelf life of only five days, so donors are in great demand
- The NBS collects platelets in two ways. A donation of platelets given using a machine which separates the platelets and returns the rest of the blood can give enough for two or three transfusions. Alternatively, the platelets from four donations of whole blood can give enough for one transfusion
- Platelet donors need to be 18 - 60 years old (65 for regular donors), weigh over nine stone (60kg) and to have donated blood successfully at least once
- We particularly need blood group 'A' and 'O' donors.
- Men are especially needed as they are more likely to be suitable for double or triple dose platelet donation than women because they have a larger blood volume.
- It takes around 1 and 1/2 hours to make a platelet donation
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