By Christopher Quinn, Communications Volunteer

Aurora lived up to her name during the short time that she had with her grandparents Donald and Cindy Ellett.

“She just lit up a room,” Donald Ellett said. “She was named after the aurora borealis.”

The aurora borealis, sometimes called the northern lights, streaks the nighttime sky in polar regions with luminous colors when conditions are right.

Born June 21, 2012, Aurora was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma when she was only 4 years old. She began cancer treatments near her home in South Carolina in 2016, and her parents and grandparents pitched in with the support she needed.

For Donald, that meant more visits to the American Red Cross donation center near him in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. He is a long-time blood donor. But when his grandchild was sick and needed blood products to survive, he learned new lessons about the process. He could donate whole blood six times a year, but he could give platelets 24 times a year. In a platelet donation, blood is withdrawn, and platelets, which are tiny cells that form clots to stop bleeding, are removed, as the rest of their blood is returned to the body.

Platelets are essential to surviving and fighting cancer and are used to treat chronic diseases and traumatic injuries. Donald upped his game in platelet donations. Though he knew the platelets he was giving were not going directly to Aurora, he felt that he was doing at least something to help.

“Donating the platelets was something I was going to do regardless, but not to this level,” Donald said. “Once Aurora was diagnosed, I said it is what I am going to do. And maybe it will help somebody.”

“It buys people time,” he said. “Gives people back their strength after chemotherapy.”

Red Cross blood donations help millions of Americans yearly. Every two seconds in the U.S., someone needs a blood transfusion. And someone needs platelets every 15 seconds.

For the last two years of Aurora’s life, she was getting a unit of platelets almost weekly, Donald said.

The American Red Cross declares an emergency blood shortage in January, as the number of donors drops to a 20-year low. Read about the shortage in this story.

Platelet transfusions for Aurora gave the family more years with her for more experiences, including a trip paid for by the Make-A-Wish Foundation for Donald and Cindy and parents Phoenix and Michael to visit Alaska so Aurora could see the famous lights she was named after.

“We spent almost an entire week there,” he said. “Dogsledding and visiting hot springs and a trip to see the aurora. It was nice. But it is cold in February in Alaska.”

During his frequent visits to the Alpharetta Donation Center, Elena Steinke, then a supervisor at the site, asked Donald why he was donating – a frequent question from her to donors. That’s when she heard the “amazing” story of the exuberant, artistic Aurora. Being an artist herself, Steinke was compelled to create for Aurora a wood carving based on a painting Aurora had made of a dragon and a phoenix.

“I did it just to put a smile on her face,” Steinke said. Because Donald spent hours in the donation center, the two became friendly, and Steinke was able to meet Aurora at one of her birthday parties.

“Some of us got together and got her a few things to keep encouraging her, because I knew she loved art,” Steinke said.

The transfusions also gave Aurora more time to attend school as often as she could, which was one of her joys.

Cindy Ellett said Aurora was mad in November when clinic visits kept her from school. Her last school visit was on Monday, December 4. Aurora, not yet 12, died the following Saturday.

“She loved having friends and she had a lot of friends,” Donald said. “One of her friends is still texting her phone.”

Aurora is gone. The family held an online celebration of her life on December 27 and are finding their way forward.

Still, Donald’s motivation to donate platelets has not changed.

“I do that because I know what families are going through,” he said. “For me, it is not a bad sacrifice, and it makes me feel I am doing something useful.”

Steinke said it is not unusual for blood donors to have a personal connection to their reasons for giving.

But if only those with a personal connection come in, the country will continue to see a growing shortage in blood supplies. It is the kindness of donors who likely will never know how their blood is being used that ensures a sufficient blood supply to provide timely care for all patients in need of lifesaving blood transfusions.

The Red Cross is facing an emergency blood shortage as donors have dropped to the lowest number in 20 years. The blood supply has fallen to critically low levels in recent weeks, and the Red Cross has had to limit distributions of some of the most used blood types to hospitals. Additional challenges in collections are expected as the cold and flu season reaches a peak. If you would like to make a donation, visit https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html to find out how to in your area.

Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733 2767), or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to, and help people recover from these disasters. This includes providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support, recovery planning, and other assistance.

The Red Cross depends on volunteers to complete its mission of alleviating suffering. If you, or someone you know, is interested in becoming a volunteer, visit redcross.org/volunteer.