Imagine having the happiest moment in your life suddenly turn life-threatening. That happened to American Red Cross North Texas Region finance director Kenisha Harding the day she gave birth to her son, Gavin.

Everything seemed fine during labor, and then a few hours after her son was born, Harding felt odd. The on-call nurse discovered that she had been bleeding internally for about three hours. The blood was pooling in her uterus, and Harding was very close to bleeding to death.

The nurse signaled a code blue, and doctors rushed her into emergency surgery that evening. Still in a daze and unaware of how critical her situation was, Harding wasn’t scared for herself as she entered the OR. Her concern centered on her mother and newborn son as the anesthesiologist sedated her.

Doctors needed to perform a hysterectomy to save her. During the surgery, Harding received 12 units of blood — the human body only has 10 units of blood in it. When she woke up after surgery, her priest stood above her praying, but she was alive. She received two additional units of platelets the following week before the hospital discharged her.

That was 23 years ago. Now, Harding is passionate about donating blood to help others who may end up in a similar situation as hers. She regularly donates about two to three times a year. Her son is now a senior in college and has been a blood donor since he was 16. He does it more frequently. Sometimes, they can even go to the blood drive together to donate blood. Her cousins and friends are also blood donors.

“We do it because we know these blood donations allowed me to be alive, to be a mom, to work for an organization that saves lives every day,” Harding said. “I am thankful every day that I get to watch my son grow up and I want to make sure others have that opportunity.”

Harding’s story of how blood donors have impacted her family doesn’t stop there. A few years ago, her mom was critically ill and was in the hospital for seven days. Doctors struggled to diagnose her. At one point, her mom had to have surgery. Harding remembers that the blood her mother received came from the Red Cross.

“We all know how critically important blood is to keep families together,” Harding said.

The Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood shortage as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. Even minor blood donation disruptions can significantly impact blood availability and have dramatic consequences for those in need of emergency blood transfusion.

“I know [donating blood] can be scary, but the thought of how many people you can save versus the idea of the process is not nearly so bad,” Harding said. “Plus, you are giving people the chance to live a full life, continue being with their loved ones and live out their hopes and dreams.”

Make an appointment to give blood or platelets now by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)