Having a rare blood disorder your entire life means there's lots of appointments between doctors and hospitals for tests and blood transfusions. Blood donors are extremely important for me, without them my quality of life is decreased drastically when dealing with PK Deficiency. My body can't keep up with the rate of hemolysis making me very fatigued, short of breath, jaundiced and many other side effects. Receiving blood every 6 weeks increases my quality of life significantly. I feel like I can have a more "normal" life and have more energy to do the things I enjoy like going for walks with my dog. My family, friends and co-workers have heard my story and it has opened their eyes and they see how important it is to donate blood and blood products, they see how big of an impact it has on a recipient's life. If I could speak with my donors I would say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to keep donating and making a difference in someone's life. Canada's Lifeline will always be important for me as the need for transfusions increases with my age. I am so very grateful for every donor and volunteer.
