accreta experience:

Erin Jensen

accreta experience: Erin Jensen

1 Year Later: Celebrating and Giving Back Through a Blood Drive

12 units of red blood cells, 4 units of fresh frozen plasma, 2 pooled packs of platelets, and 3 units of cryo: that is a lot of blood product. All of that came from blood donors, and I needed it to survive losing 5,000 mL of blood during the birth of my daughter. My unsung heroes, the people that played a huge part of my survival of placenta increta, are people that I have never even met. They are blood donors. They are complete strangers who gave a little bit of their time, and quite literally of themselves, so that I did not become another maternal mortality statistic. I was able to thank my medical team, but how on earth am I supposed to thank the people that provided the product for the doctors to give to me? There’s only one thing I could think of, and that was to pay it forward and donate blood myself.

Before I get into blood donation, let me give you a background of how I got there. On September 12, 2018, I was admitted to Manchester Memorial Hospital in Connecticut as a result of an episode of bleeding. I was 34 weeks along in my third pregnancy and had a complete placenta previa. Initially, there was some concern for placenta accreta on early ultrasounds, but subsequent imaging did not show anything along those lines. However, based on my particular risk factors, my providers went ahead and planned for the worst-case scenario, while hoping for an uncomplicated outcome. I stayed in the hospital for 12 sleeps before a caesarean delivery at 36 weeks. Being away from my two boys, 5 years and 3 years old at the time, was incredibly hard. My husband and family did a great job of holding down the fort in my absence. After my daughter was born, I remember asking my doctor if the placenta was coming out. He said, “nope, it’s quite stuck.” I remember him saying they were going ahead with the hysterectomy. The last things I remember were hearing my doctor ask for blood to be hung, and me saying goodbye to my husband and daughter as they left the OR. About 6 hours later, I woke up in the ICU not knowing what had happened. While I was asleep, I had really come face to face with my own mortality, only to be saved by the skill of my providers, a Mass Transfusion Protocol, and the heroes who donated blood.

What started out as a desire to donate blood on my daughter’s first birthday, grew into something more. I had to do something with a bigger impact than I could provide by myself. A friend of mine had worked with the American Red Cross to host numerous blood drives, so I reached out to her to see if it was something I could do. She put me in touch with a coordinator from the Red Cross, and we got the ball rolling. The American Red Cross was great and made hosting a drive so easy. My coordinator, Danielle, handled the logistics. She secured the location, set up the date with the team who collects the blood/sets up the drive, and had posters made up. Essentially, she did all the hard work. My responsibilities were to share my story, hang posters in my community, and  advertise to help fill donation  appointments. I had to also secure a volunteer or two to help the day of the drive. Part of my responsibility was handling the refreshment table for post donation refueling. The Red Cross provides some basic snacks and drinks, but my mom also brought sandwiches, and I brought cupcakes (a birthday has to have cake right?!) On September 24, 2019, we celebrated my daughter’s first birthday, and the 1 year anniversary of my survival, by hosting a successful blood drive. We had a goal of 30 units of blood, and ended the day with a total of 39. It was better than we could have hoped for, and it was one of the easiest things I have ever done. 

Two resources we recommend are The American Red Cross website as well as NAF’s partner Heroes for Moms Blood Drive Toolkit. Be sure to check out National Accreta Foundation’s Blood Donation page for resources for how you can use your story and experience to promote blood donation as well.

I will end with a couple of questions that I encountered during this process: Can you donate if you are currently breastfeeding? The short answer to this is YES! However, be cognizant of the fact that blood donation causes a loss of fluid, which can then lead to a reduction in supply. I would say that you should only donate if your baby is already at a point where he or she is eating solids, and is not solely relying on your milk. Or, if you struggle with supply issues, then it’s best to wait. As always, check with a medical provider if you are unsure for an official recommendation with your particular situation.  Another common question is: How soon after a blood transfusion can I donate blood? The answer is 12 months. To be clear, that is as long as your transfusion was in the United States.  Here’s a link with some more frequently asked questions about blood donation from the American Red Cross.

I’m excited to make this an annual tradition. An October 2020 blood drive will be my next one in honor of Accreta Awareness month. Join me by hosting a drive in your community as well!

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“Accreta Experiences” is a National Accreta Foundation produced series where accreta survivors write articles sharing their placenta accreta experiences and learnings in their own words to help those new to the accreta community.

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