Grace Mayo

College Essay
September 20, 2020
My Blood Saved Lives

While the year 2020 presented many challenges for the world, I never thought I would

find myself in a position where I could possibly save someone's life due to the virus I

contracted. Needles have always been one of my biggest fears, but it didn't matter, the

coronavirus has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives, and if all it took was me donating

plasma to help save the lives of others, then so be it.

I had fallen ill with the coronavirus after my brother Jack decided to come home from college at

James Madison University. I thought my life was over, my last week of summer canceled because of my

brother, I wasn't just mad, I was infuriated, infuriated because while my brother was asymptomatic, I

lost my taste, my sense of smell, and my summer all within one day of him being home. The virus went

around the whole house, every family member contracted symptoms and tested positive, we all thought

that after the mandatory quarantine we would be able to go out and return back to normal life. However,

things changed when my mom wasn't recovering fully and continued to get worse. My mother was

rushed to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with silent hypoxia. Silent hypoxia is a very

dangerous condition where one's lungs are affected making it especially dangerous if one is already

battling COVID-19. My mother spent days alone in the COVID ward as her health continued to decline,

the doctor's finally came to the conclusion that a convalescent plasma transfusion would save her life.

The plasma that saved my mom's life was donated by someone who had recently tested positive with

COVID, because of this, I decided to also donate plasma to help others like my mom.
 Mayo 2

When I arrived at the American Red Cross building, I was dripping in sweat and trembling so

hard it's as if there was an earthquake with every step I took. Every step closer to the chair made me

sweat more, at this point I was sweating bullets just thinking about the needle going into my skin, into

my body, and extracting the liquid that keeps me alive. As I sat back in the chair, I got a sudden wave of

chills, I thought I was going to blackout as she put the tourniquet tightly around my bicep. “Ready 3,2,1"

The phlebotomist said as she pierced me with the needle, I watched the blood drain out of my body as if

a dam had let out all of its water. An hour passes by as I fill up valves of blood, then the phlebotomist

returns and takes the needle out, suddenly I am not dizzy or nauseous anymore. As I begin to feel

relieved, a nurse approaches me and says,"Now it's time to drain it back in." My jaw dropped. I could

not believe they were going to put the blood back in me after I just spent over an hour draining it, the

nurse then explained they have separated the plasma from the blood and are able to put the blood back

into my body. So once again the needle is inserted into my other arm leaving behind two bruises. The

nurse tells me my plasma will go to help sick people all over the nation, whether they are sick with

COVID-19 or worse diseases like cancer. After hearing this, it felt great to donate.

I was proud of myself that I was able to help those that haven't been as fortunate as I was,

like my mother. This process allowed me to realize how much I take for granted like my health

and experiences but also helped me face my fears for the greater good. Donating is a great

experience which leaves one fulfilled and allows one to have an impact on the world.