Lifesaver

Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN

Lindsey Neill, center, nearly bled to death after giving birth to Emersynn, left. Gerald Kroum’s blood, right, saved her.

Corpus Christi blood donor meets his match

Gerald Kroum knows someone in Arizona might need every pint of blood he donates, but he never knew who that someone might be.

That was until Feb. 12.

That day the 82-year-old Corpus Christi parishioner met a young Gilbert woman who is alive, in part, thanks to blood Kroum donated several years ago.

“You think each time that you donate it will be life saving,” Kroum said, moments after meeting 28-year-old Lindsey Neill. “In this case, it did save a life, unbeknownst to me at the time.”

Neill, a mother of three, experienced post-delivery complications following the birth of her youngest child six years ago. She needed 16 blood transfusions.

Turns out, Kroum’s blood was among them. He regularly donates when United Blood Services sets up shop in the church parking lot.

Although the two met privately Feb. 12 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa, it was an elaborate production. United Blood Services coordinated the meeting minutes before its annual Valentines for Life luncheon honoring some 200 active blood drive coordinators.

Kroum sat a bit nervously on a solid green couch. Kroum gestured something to his wife, sitting just a few feet away. They chuckled.

Still, the retired construction worker remained focused.

Neill arrived with flowers and a small gift in hand, her daughter in tow. The donor and recipient hugged, sat down and talked softly.

Neill’s daughter, Emersynn, stood by in a prom-like Valentine’s dress. She politely waited for her introduction and listened to what happened shortly after her birth.

“There were definitely some scary moments,” Neill recalled when she awaited a blood transfusion. “The doctors thought it would arrive in 45 minutes. It took three hours.”

Neill went into shock and had to be resuscitated.

“Knowing that I had something to do with her being able to walk around the corner and to see the results of it, it’s just wonderful,” Kroum said.

He has donated blood at least 30 times since moving to Arizona in 1990. He’s been donating blood every two months for the last five-to-10 years, but had never known what became of it until meeting Neill.

“I never realized they tracked blood so closely,” Kroum admitted.

Testing and managing blood is a 24/7 job, making sure blood is processed and stored. Blood banks need 700 people a day to donate blood in order to keep up with demand. Yet only 5 percent of those eligible to donate blood do so.

“Gerald is a good reminder that there’s no upper age limit for donating blood,” said Sue Thew, spokesperson for United Blood Services of Arizona.

“It’s so easy to do and you do feel good after you donate,” Kroum said. “It’s really special today that I can actually meet someone I helped save.”

Now, both the lifesaver and the life he saved promote the ongoing need for blood donations however they can. Like her donor, Neill also donates blood every two months and uses her Facebook page to motivate others. She also shared her testimony with a packed ballroom of active donors and blood drive coordinators at the Valentine’s luncheon.