Christine shares importance of finding hope and help amid medical challenges
Christine Martin is on a mission to help patients affected by blood disorders.
It’s a deeply personal cause, because it includes Christine’s two children: 2-year-old Charlotte and her 1-year-old brother, John Paul.
Charlotte and John Paul were diagnosed with hereditary spherocytosis, a rare, inherited blood disease that alters the shape and viability of red blood cells. This can then lead to anemia.
Charlotte received seven blood transfusions in her first year of life, while John Paul had eight transfusions before his first birthday.
“It’s very possible someone who donates blood will be the donor that saves their lives when they next need a transfusion,” Martin said.
Support from donors and the community at-large has been a blessing, she said.
A faculty member at Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler, Martin said she felt positively overwhelmed when students and colleagues united this past fall to organize a Carter BloodCare blood drive in her family’s honor.
“Gorman’s faculty and students leave me in awe with their support, compassion and dedication to making a difference,” she said.
While blood donations help her children’s health, Martin noted, they also support the greater Tyler and East Texas community.
Each unit of donated whole blood can benefit three local patients, once the blood is separated into its three components of red blood cells, platelets and plasma.
In addition to encouraging blood donations, Martin advocates for greater awareness of blood disorders and their treatments. Ultimately, she plans to organize community events to better inform the public and support those in need.
She is driven to turn medical challenges into opportunities for help and hope for others.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of blood donations,” Martin said. “Knowing there is no other treatment than donating blood to help your children, it gives you a greater perspective.”
You can help local patients like Charlotte and John Paul. Please donate at your nearby Carter BloodCare donor center or mobile blood drive.
And, if you have ever received blood or platelets, your transfusion experience can motivate others to donate. Please Tell Us Your Story.