Kate Potts at the University of Lethbridge (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Cancer survivor shares her blood donation story at the U of L

Feb 4, 2020 | 1:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Taking an hour out of your day can help save a life.

That’s from Kate Potts, who was at the University of Lethbridge Tuesday sharing her story during a Canadian Blood Services blood typing event. Students had the opportunity to learn about their blood type and the donation process.

At the age of four, Potts was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, but after several rounds of chemotherapy and blood transfusions, she survived and has been cancer-free for 17 years.

“Across seven months and four intensive rounds of chemo [chemotherapy], I had over 70 blood transfusions that saved my life. I definitely wouldn’t be here [today] without that,” she told LNN.

The blood typing event set up in the Atrium at the U of L (Lethbridge News Now)

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Potts said going through her treatment, she faced many challenges such as fungal lung infections, fungal heart infections and complications also caused her to have a heart attack.

“The complications were constantly there,” she said.

“Many days, I was receiving two or three donations just to make sure I was stable. These blood donations literally saved my life. The doctors were there to help provide the treatment plan but if people weren’t donating, then there was so little that doctors could actually do to help me, so that blood was really crucial.”

Chart describing the different types of blood (Lethbridge News Now)

She noted that a leukemia patient can ho through eight transfusions every week and someone involved in a serious car collision can receive up to 50 transfusions “within the first little while of the trauma”.

Potts is asking everyone who can to seriously considering donating blood, because one visit to the local clinic can make a life-changing difference.

“It can be so powerful to think about the person who is receiving it. It can seem like such a sheltered donation, like you don’t really know who you’re helping so to think about that donation, and you know…that four-year-old who is getting a needle doesn’t want to get that needle as much as you don’t,” she said.

“Just try it out. Really think and know you are making that positive change and that positive impact on the community…it’s definitely an awesome way to help save that life and help [make an] impact.”

For more on the different types of blood and how you can donate, visit blood.ca.