By: Suzanne Lawler, American Red Cross
It is not often someone thinks it is a blessing to get denied the chance to give blood, but for Johnny Bryan, the rejection may have saved his life. “I know the importance of giving blood,” Bryan said with conviction.
He learned through a series of events that would make any parent shudder. A lawnmower ran over his little boy at the child’s grandparent’s house. Eventually, his toddler lost a portion of his foot because of the accident. “He was five, he had to have a lot of blood, several transfusions, so I started giving blood then,” the older Bryan recalled.
Throughout his treatment, Tim needed 13 pints of lifesaving blood. Doctors told the father of two that it was more than what was in the little guy’s body. “He had countless surgeries over several years and he received blood many times,” Bryan said.
Bryan lives in Sylvester, Georgia. It is a small town of about five thousand folks. The O+ positive donor became a regular at the city's blood drive events, knowing firsthand he was making a difference. He carved out time from tending to his farm for his appointments and is pretty proud garnishing his two-gallon pin.
Last year he started to come up short. The 61-year-old could not get past the information stage of donations. Each time a phlebotomist would prick his finger, his iron registered too low. A small percentage of people do get denied, for things like poor veins, lack of hydration or even severe asthma, it can happen. But Bryan had a proven track record and as you can imagine, he got frustrated and checked in with his doctor. “At first the doctor gave me iron pills for anemia,” he said. The pills did not work, his doctor said to double up on them two or three more failures happened. Bryan felt defeated. It took a trip to his urologist on an unrelated matter to get some answers.
“My blood count was all out of whack, he sent me to Phoebe, Bryan said.
Bryan has a rare form of cancer called Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), also known as lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. It attacks the blood, burrowing into the bone marrow. WM is a slow-moving disease that can cause a person to feel symptoms that are not always recognizable like fatigue. “I thought I was just getting old,” he chuckled.
Many people don’t see any symptoms until the cancer begins to attack a key organ. “In a roundabout way my blood donations backdoor was a way of finding this condition,” he reasoned. “We found it early before there was liver damage.”
Many patients with WM need your help.
“Your protein level builds up pretty high and if it gets too high you need a blood transfusion because it becomes a medical emergency,” Bryan described.
The donor who used to get called a lot to come down and fill up a pint because of his O+ blood never needed a transfusion. He’s doing pretty good, even though there is not a cure for this type of cancer.
“It’s treatable,” he said. “New medications are out with good results and my labs have been improving.”
He’s optimistic with good reason, his cancer has not metastasized, and his son is now a dad himself. And although the older Bryan will never get the chance to donate again, he will always be bold about his conviction to give blood.
“It was a tremendous lucky shot for me,” he exclaimed.
Eligible individuals are encouraged to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767).
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