Home » Santa Clarita News » Health And Beauty » Valencia Mother Thanks UCLA Blood Donors Who Saved Her Life

Valencia Mother Thanks UCLA Blood Donors Who Saved Her Life

Valencia mother of two Jennifer Calderon had the opportunity to thank the UCLA blood donors who saved her life nine months ago during her second pregnancy.

The UCLA Blood and Platelet Center in Los Angeles collects about 30,000 blood and platelet donations each year. A Valencia lawyer and mother of two was given the opportunity to thank seven of those blood donors who saved her life.Jennifer Calderon and son, Henry


Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox.


Jennifer Calderon, 34, lost nearly all of her body’s blood supply when she underwent an high-risk Cesarean section at UCLA in April, but thanks to Dr. Tina Nguyen and 24 units of blood donated by seven different donors, she survived and was able to go home after two weeks in the hospital.

Calderon and her husband Dustin Schumuldt, along with their children Charlie, 3, and Henry, 9 months, attended the annual Blood Donor Recognition Luncheon on Friday, where Calderon had the chance to thank Rich McAndrews, Mary Chuhinko, Ricardo Barboza and Linda Hashi, among the other donors.

Schmuldt-Calderon familyRanging in age from 19 to 60, the group hails from throughout the Los Angeles region and spans the spectrum in terms of ethnicity, occupation, religion and gender. Many have given platelets and blood dozens of times, with one donating platelets 80 times.

“It was really wonderful for me to be able to give thanks to my donors,” Calderon said. “They were so overhwhleming sweet to me and my family. It was so nice to be able to put faces to what would normally be an anonymous situation.”

The fourth annual luncheon focused on OB-GYN patients, but UCLA spokeswoman Elaine Schmidt said that the past events have highlighted different departments, places where blood donations are needed regularly.

Calderon had struggled with bleeding during much of her pregnancy, Nguyen said at Friday’s luncheon, and when she went in for a C-section at eight months, it continued to be an issue.

“Anticipating that Jennifer might need blood products, I asked for blood and it arrived within 10 minutes,” Nguyen said. “Having those products so readily available saved her life.”

“It was a very traumatic day,” Calderon said. “I’m very grateful for the care that the doctors at UCLA had for both my son and myself.”

Patients do not typically get to meet their blood donors because of medical confidentiality, but Schmidt said that UCLA highlights a patient every year, and Calderon and the donors gave permission for their names to be released.

Nguyen said that she couldn’t have saved Calderon without their contribution.

“As a surgeon, there is only so much operating I can do without blood products,” she said. “When it comes to our pregnant patients, your donations are even more precious because of the circumstances surrounding the need.”

For more information about UCLA’s Blood and Platelet Center, click here.

Jennifer surrounded by her donors, from left: Wendy Lohman, Emily Laing, Mary Chuhinko, Richard McAndrews, Jennifer Calderon with son, Henry; Linda Hashi, Megan Cory and Ricardo Barboza


Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.


[node:title]


Article: [node:title]
Source: Santa Clarita News
Author: [node:author]


 

Valencia Mother Thanks UCLA Blood Donors Who Saved Her Life

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220

As Santa Clarita’s only local radio station, KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, along with your favorite adult contemporary hits by artists such as Rob Thomas, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5. We are vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community. Our broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. We stream our talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience.