I am a 48 year old with transfusion dependent beta-thalassemia (also called Cooley’s Anemia). After two bouts of congestive heart failure I commenced blood transfusions at the age of 25. I receive two units of A+ packed red blood cells every two weeks; have had 526 blood transfusions which totals approximately 1060 units of blood. Blood gives me life – it enables me to be a wife, a mother, a friend, a medical consultant, a patient advocate, a volunteer, a traveler, a baker, a gardener, a Disney enthusiast, an animal lover, and so much more. I try to be worthy of every drop of blood I receive and look for ways to give back. One of those ways is planning blood drives so since I cannot do this in person at the annual ICF Labor Day Convention I am doing it virtually. Please help me save lives – countless people depend on blood to live and I am just one of them. Make and keep an appointment to give blood to the American Red Cross. Thank you – I am so grateful to blood donors for giving the gift of life.