Maria Callanan knows the power of blood donation \u2013 now from both sides of the experience.<\/p>\n
As a teenager, she would often accompany her mother to then-Easton Hospital (now St. Luke\u2019s Easton Campus) to receive transfusions during her cancer treatment.\u00a0 \u201cThey helped her live two years longer,\u201d recalled the Easton woman. \u201cI was grateful to the people who were donors at Miller-Keystone Blood Center.\u201d This inspired during her teens to start donating regularly at Keystone-Miller Blood Center, in Bethlehem, or other \u201cpop-up\u201d drives.<\/p>\n
Then, on Christmas Day 2022, in the midst of celebrating with her family, the 32-year-old stay-at-home Mom was rushed to St. Luke\u2019s Anderson Campus in agonizing pain, caused by a twisted ovary and ovarian cyst. She underwent extensive emergency surgery to remove both, needing a lifesaving transfusion replace blood lost during the operation.<\/p>\n
Today, she continues giving blood at Miller-Keystone, in memory of her mother and with gratitude to the generous donors whose blood saved her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Miller-Keystone is wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cI love their mission and the people who run it.\u201d<\/p>\n
MKBC has locations in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Reading, the Poconos, Pittston and Ewing, NJ, and holds blood drives at area businesses and other locations.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s, a founding member of Miller-Keystone over 50 years ago, continues its unwavering commitment as the only local health care network that identifies MKBC as its primary blood supplier. Without St. Luke\u2019s steadfast support for MKBC, the Lehigh Valley could run out of the blood necessary for to provide lifesaving care for patients, particularly during a regional or national blood shortage or other crisis.<\/p>\n
Callanan\u2019s goal also is to help increase the blood supply from future generations. \u201cMy mission is to educate my children and other children on why it\u2019s so important and to motivate them to make the decision to donate blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
MKBC has locations in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Reading, the Poconos, Pittston and Ewing, NJ, and holds blood drives at area businesses and other locations.<\/p>\n
About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872,\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites.\u00a0 With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.\u00a0 In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school campus.\u00a0 It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke\u2019s, a member of the Children\u2019s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.<\/p>\n SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s\u00a0five-star<\/em>\u00a0ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.\u00a0 It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades\u00a0Top Hospital<\/em>\u00a0and a Newsweek World\u2019s\u00a0Best Hospital<\/em>.\u00a0 The Network\u2019s flagship University Hospital has earned the\u00a0100 Top Major Teaching Hospital<\/em>\u00a0designation from Fortune\/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.\u00a0 In 2021, St. Luke\u2019s was identified as one of the\u00a015 Top Health Systems<\/em>\u00a0nationally.\u00a0 Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the\u00a0Most Wired<\/em>\u00a0award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information. \u00a0The Network is also recognized as one of the state\u2019s lowest-cost providers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: Maria Callanan knows the power of blood donation \u2013 now from both sides of the experience. As a teenager, she would often accompany her mother to then-Easton Hospital (now St. … Continue reading Blood Donor Unexpectedly Becomes Recipient Lifesaving Transfusion<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"