By: Jennifer Costa, Red Cross Communications Director
“I had no history of issues in pregnancy in my family. I had no warning signs of anything other than a typical delivery. So, my husband and I were very excited.”
For Granite Stater Lauren Maynard and husband Trevor, that excitement over the birth of their first child swirled with a bit of nerves as they headed to the hospital. It was time … or so they thought.
“After about 20 hours of labor, things weren't progressing like we would like them to. So, we headed into a C-section,” Lauren remembered. “And within two minutes of my daughter being born, I hemorrhaged and lost about 70% of the blood in my body.”
New dad Trevor was rushed out, family was called and Lauren was whisked away as a team of medical professionals fought to save her life.
“It was terrifying being awake for that sort of experience. All I could hear is the doctors urgently calling for more blood and runners to go get more blood products. I ended up needing seven units,” the Exeter mom said. “I kept asking doctors if I was going to live.”
Lauren remained in the ICU for the next 24 hours. Fortunately, those seven transfused units of blood helped her to survive. In time, she was able to hold Laney – her happy, healthy baby girl.
“We had a wonderful time after I was able to finally meet her. But looking back on our story and looking back on those moments, we had no idea there was such a critical shortage of blood products at the time. It would have made it a whole lot scarier,” Lauren said.
It was 2021. COVID was still surging and new variants were making it hard for hospitals to keep up. Vaccinations were on the rise, so deaths were down, but blood donation was also headed toward a record low. A few months after Lauren’s near-death delivery, the American Red Cross was forced to declare its first-ever national blood crisis.
“We're very thankful that we were able to be in the hospital where they had access to enough blood for me.”
An estimated seven people had to donate blood so Lauren could live – a sobering reality she does not take for granted.
“It's hard to comprehend the impact that strangers could have on my life in that way,” she said. “I'm able to be here and be a mother and a wife and experience life with my daughter now because they donated blood.”
In the U.S., approximately 700 women die each year from pregnancy complications according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Postpartum hemorrhage, like Lauren experienced, is the leading cause of maternal death, occurring in 3-5% of deliveries and accounting for 14% of deaths. And yet 40% of those women, again like Lauren, had no risk factors.
“I never in a million years thought that I would have a traumatic delivery like that. It rocked our world and we will never be the same,” she said. “But I'm happy that we came out of it with a new perspective of being able to take care of other people who could find themselves in that situation. And we will always do that.”
Prior to her own need for blood, Lauren was an occasional blood donor, giving here and there when opportunities presented themselves in high school and college.
“But it wasn't something that was a priority on my mind to do it every eight weeks like it is now,” she explained. “Same with my family. No one really had it on their radar to be donating regularly. Especially something like this, where you think it's a normal pregnancy. You think everything will be fine.”
Not only is Lauren a regular blood donor now, but she works with the Red Cross to host blood drives twice a year at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) where she works. She views the effort as a meaningful way to give back while helping educate and inspire the next generation of blood donors about the lifesaving impact of their generosity.
“At SNHU, we have an amazing civically minded community. So, I wanted to harness that as best I could. It's nice to host a blood drive on campus where we have a lot of walk-ins of students and employees who want to give back. It's been a huge success every year, so much so that we added another one this fall.”
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion. That lifesaving blood can only come from healthy, volunteer donors. Although 62% of the U.S. population is eligible to give, only 3% do.
For Lauren, the impact of those seven donors isn't measured in units of blood. It's measured in birthday parties, family vacations, bedtime stories and watching her daughter grow up.
Today, Laney is a thriving, spunky 5-year-old who just started kindergarten. Every milestone is a reminder of the strangers who made it possible for Lauren to be here to experience them.
“She is a super kind and funny kid. It’s rare to hear a five-year-old talking about blood donation, but she has heard us talk about it and watched us prepare for the drives. She knows the importance of giving back. Someday she will know more about the true gift that blood donors gave us,” Lauren said.
To learn more about blood donation – or to make an appointment to give – visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or use the Red Cross Blood Donor App.
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