By Anton Ghosh

One day in April 2021, George Delaney lay in a Boston, Massachusetts hospital. He was exhausted. It had been a long four months. In January 2021, doctors diagnosed him with bladder cancer. At first, they thought it would be a “small problem,” his wife, Bridget, recounts, “but it became a big problem. Everything they tried exhausted him.”

During his treatment, blood transfusions were his lifeline and an important source of relief. The tumor made George bleed profusely. It tired him and “made him incredibly anemic,” says Bridget. Blood transfusions were “his survival for many months. It was the only way he got relief and energy.”

So, it was on that day in April 2021, when George lay in that hospital, fatigued and with a very low blood count.  He had already received 40 pints of blood, but he needed more.  The hospital, however, was running low.  As Bridget recounts about that day, “I remember distinctly I had driven up two hours from Cape Cod to be with him. He had no energy and was exhausted, waiting for the blood. Just waiting.” Nobody was sure how long George would have to wait. 

As the sun set and visiting hours ended, Bridget knew she would need to leave George alone soon. She reluctantly packed her things and started walking out the door. That is when she knew that George would have some relief for the night. “As I was walking out the door, the Red Cross came walking in with blood. I knew George would get some relief soon,” Bridget remembers. 

Unfortunately, that relief was brief. Two weeks later, George returned home under hospice care and passed away.  It was that incident, however, on an April night in 2021, that motivated Bridget to resume giving blood after not donating for a very long time.   “That’s why I give,” says Bridget, who now lives in northern California’s Bay Area.

Today, she tries to donate plasma and platelets every 4-5 weeks at the American Red Cross donation center in Pleasant Hill, California.  Bridget hopes to reach an initial goal of 40 pints in a year, marking how much blood her husband needed. “I think I’ve given 20 at most, but I hope to get there,” says Bridget.

The process is not always easy, but she trusts the Red Cross staff. As she recounts, her second time giving blood was more difficult than she anticipated. “I hadn’t taken enough calcium. It was one of those moments close to the end of my donation.  I felt like I was going to pass out. My whole body was feeling the impact. The staff were on me in a flash and knew exactly what to do.” Today, Bridget takes extra calcium before donating to prevent a repeat.

The time commitment can also make donating challenging. Giving plasma and platelets can take up to 3½ hours. For Bridget, it is an easy decision, especially knowing what blood transfusions meant for her husband. “It’s a challenge to give platelets and plasma but I believe that for as long as I can, I will continue to do that because they were so essential for his survival. For him to communicate,” she explains.

Indeed, her husband’s experience has instilled in Bridget a deep, personal appreciation for the gift that blood donations can bestow on someone in need. For her, blood donation is about saying thank you and helping others, rather than receiving any accolades or insight into how her blood is used. “That isn’t as important to me,” states Bridget. “I know for each pint my husband got, he got the gift from more than one person. How do you thank all the people that touched your life?  Hearing from people is not a motivator for me. I would do it anyway.”

For Bridget, this desire to give back is something that runs deep in her family. “My husband always believed in donating. He was not able to donate but was a great listener, very social and cared deeply about everyone.” Her brother also donates blood regularly. “We are a family of blood donors,” Bridget says proudly. 

Bridget’s mission will always be deeply personal and she will keep giving blood as long as she can, in memory of her husband.  For those who are thinking about donating for the first time, Bridget has these words of encouragement for them: “It is one of the most generous gifts that you could ever give because it gives life to another person and many times it gives life to more than one person. It is like a pebble in the water because it ripples out. It touches that person and their family and it is the gift of life.”