Holiday season brings increased need for blood donations

J.R. Ortega

Nov. 6, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- YOAKUM -- Aryana Garza likes playing with her toys and trying to live the life of an average 2-year-old.

But she's not.

She has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and receives blood transfusions regularly, said her mother, Skye Holmes.

"It was very traumatizing," said the 22-year-old mother of her daughter's diagnosis in April. "It was very hard to accept."

On their Christmas wish list this year -- more blood donors.

With the holidays fast approaching, the Victoria South Texas Blood and Tissue Center will host several blood drives throughout November.

Though Garza's blood type is O-positive, a universal blood recipient, not all are so lucky, she said.

"It's really hard to have to depend on someone else to provide for your daughter," she said. "As a parent, it's hard to watch your child go through that. It's even harder to know that your child's life depends on someone else's."

Garza has received three transfusions and more could be on the way, Holmes said.

The need for blood around the holiday season has always been greater, said Monica Mendez, community relations specialist with the center.

"Families are traveling," she said. "They leave home and maybe forget to donate blood or it's just not at the top of their list of things to do."

Most often, the frequent traveling brings more car accidents, resulting in more blood loss.

People should not wait, Mendez said.

"We don't know if the need will be greater this season because of car accidents, but we also don't want donors to wait for something tragic to happen to start donating," she said.

Garza had always been healthy until she developed a fever that wouldn't break in early April, her mother said.

Unexplained bruises and skin discoloration prompted Holmes to take her to the emergency room.

From that point, everything went downhill, Holmes said.

"I couldn't picture anything from that point on," she said.

For Holmes and her daughter, life has changed because of the disease.

Holmes must tend to her daughter, so she is unable to hold down a job.

Holmes has also lost her home, her car and now lives with her mother, she said.

Though life has taken a different route than Holmes expected, she wants her daughter to live as normal a life as possible, she said.

"I don't want the disease to become who she is. I don't want it to make her," she said. "I don't want her to think this is what I was, I want her to think this is what I've overcome."

Garza will be on and off of chemotherapy until 2011, Holmes said.

The life-changing event has made Holmes, who was already a blood donor, more determined to help out as much as possible, she said.

She had also donated plasma and is on a list to donate bone marrow.

"Now that I've gone through this, I donate as often as I possibly can," she said. "You want to help in any way that you can."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0211-39517139