Sara Cline celebrated her son Liam’s first birthday recently, an unforgettable milestone she wouldn’t have been able to share with him if it wasn’t for the generosity of blood donors.

A project engineer who lives in Anaconda, Sara had a relatively easy pregnancy. But when the day finally came, Sara had to be induced, and her medical team performed an emergency cesarean section after almost 24 hours of labor.

On May 14, 2020, Liam was born healthy, but shortly after Sara was moved to the recovery room, her blood pressure crashed and she felt like she might pass out. Doctors found a bleed and performed surgery to fix it, but she still wasn’t stabilizing. Then they discovered a much bigger issue – a rupture in her uterine artery causing severe hemorrhaging. She was rushed into surgery again to repair the tear.

By that point, Sara had lost so much blood her body went into shock and her blood was no longer able to clot. They placed her on a helicopter bound for Missoula, and every second mattered.

“By the time I got to Missoula I was right on the edge,” Sara said. “They weren’t sure I was going to make it.”

Sara said the Missoula team was ready and waiting for her when she arrived so all they needed to do “was plug her in.”

“There were so many things that just went perfectly right,” she said. “Any hiccup along the way, and I wouldn’t be here today. I had really amazing medical teams.”

Before it was all said and done, Sara required 25 units of blood products – products available because of the generosity of donors.

In honor of those donors and to celebrate Liam’s first birthday, Sara and her husband Mike held a Red Cross blood drive at Mike’s physical therapy office in Anaconda. Donors were greeted with a huge birthday cake provided by the Clines, and Liam was there to spread some joy.

The Clines’ goal was to collect 25 units – the amount Sara needed during her treatment and recovery – and more than 34 donors came through the door. They included three members of Sara’s medical team and 29 first-time donors.

“That was my No. 1 motivator for doing the blood drive -- I felt like I owed it to the donors who saved my life to replenish the blood I used,” she said.

Sara said she hopes to continue donating until she personally gives 25 units, and she encourages others to come give it a try -- even those who might be a little afraid of needles.

“It’s a little tiny poke and it makes all the difference in somebody’s life,” she said. “For us, our son knows his mom because of people who were able to do that.”

Schedule an appointment today

Every day the Montana Red Cross holds blood drives in communities across the state, collecting the lifesaving blood products Sara and so many others like her depend on. Find a blood drive near you and schedule an appointment today by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 800-RED-CROSS. A donation takes less than an hour and can potentially save more than one life.