Dear Editor,
Blood donations save lives, and I know this firsthand. Two years ago, I was hospitalized with pneumonia that inexplicably escalated into acute respiratory distress syndrome. Over the two months I spent in the ICU of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, my treatment included six weeks on a ventilator and 20 days of extracorporeal mechanical oxygenation. To offset the blood loss from these machines, I required multiple blood transfusions. Fortunately, many selfless members of our community eagerly turned up at the three blood drives held in my honor and donated enough blood to save my life and many others’.
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