Blood
‘Sarah on my Mind’ blood drive continues in memory of Helena teen
Oct
Sarah Magera
A blood drive was held Sept. 29 at Mount Helena Community Church/Gateway Center in memory of Sarah Magera, who died from cancer Oct. 1, 2016, at 16.
Her mother, Wendy, said 22 units were collected, which is not as much as previous years, but would help those in need of blood.
“It was pretty good,” Wendy said, adding “it’s always good to see people when they come back.”
Sarah Magera’s sister Heather donates blood during the recent “Sarah on my Mind” Red Cross blood drive in Helena. With Heather is Dr. Jeffrey Golding and Heather’s mother, Wendy, both of whom also donated blood at the drive.
Sarah, known affectionately as “Sarah Berra,” was diagnosed with leukemia at age 11 as a sixth grade student at C.R. Anderson Middle School and had later attended Capital High School. She had hundreds of blood transfusions during her cancer fight, family members said. In her memory, a blood drive is held on the anniversary of her death. This was the sixth year a blood drive was held.
“Sarah had a zest for life that amazed everyone who came to know her story,” her obituary stated. “She had a love for friends, family, frogs, all things green, and anything quirky.”
People are also reading…
“Sarah battled cancer day in and day out like it was nothing more than an annoyance,” the obituary stated. “She was brave beyond belief with a smile. She did her best even though life had been unfair to her. She didn’t give up just because things didn’t go her way or turn out exactly how she planned.”
The American Red Cross said blood donors of all blood types are urgently needed. The American Red Cross declared a national blood shortage on Sept. 11, citing a critically low blood supply level that dropped nearly 25% since early August.
Blood product distributions to hospitals are outpacing the number of blood donations coming in, and distributions of some of the most needed blood types to hospitals have been reduced in recent weeks, the Red Cross stated on its website.
To make an appointment to give blood or platelets, donors can use the Red Cross Blood App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
#lee-rev-content { margin:0 -5px; }
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-family: inherit!important;
font-weight: 700!important;
border-left: 8px solid var(–lee-blox-link-color);
text-indent: 7px;
font-size: 24px!important;
line-height: 24px;
}
#lee-rev-content .rc-provider {
font-family: inherit!important;
}
#lee-rev-content h4 {
line-height: 24px!important;
font-family: “serif-ds”,Times,”Times New Roman”,serif!important;
margin-top: 10px!important;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-size: 18px!important;
line-height: 18px;
}
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article {
clear: both;
background-color: #fff;
color: #222;
background-position: bottom;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 15px 0 20px;
margin-bottom: 40px;
border-top: 4px solid rgba(0,0,0,.8);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.2);
display: none;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article,
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article p {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article h2 {
font-size: 24px;
margin: 15px 0 5px 0;
font-family: “serif-ds”, Times, “Times New Roman”, serif;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .lead {
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .email-desc {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
opacity: 0.7;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article form {
padding: 10px 30px 5px 30px;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .disclaimer {
opacity: 0.5;
margin-bottom: 0;
line-height: 100%;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .disclaimer a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .email-hammer {
border-bottom: 3px solid #222;
opacity: .5;
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 10px 5px 10px;
margin-bottom: -5px;
font-size: 16px;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article form {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0;
}
}
.grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; }
