NICOLE'S STORY

"Is there anything we can do?" Family members, friends and coworkers of Sherri and Paul Glidden all wanted to help when 4-year-old Nicole was diagnosed with cancer. CHOC Blood and Donor Services provided them with a special opportunity to help Nicole and other critically ill patients at CHOC.

Cancer patients like Nicole frequently need blood products because chemotherapy targets healthy cells as well as the cancerous ones, inhibiting the body's ability to produce its own blood cells. Surgery patients, critically ill newborns or patients with blood disorders also require transfusions of whole blood or specific components, such as platelets, white blood cells or red blood cells.

In California, patients have three choices regarding blood products. They may donate their own blood in advance, use blood from a designated donor or use products from a blood bank. The Gliddens opted to set up a designated donor program for Nicole. Then they asked family members, friends and coworkers to visit CHOC Blood and Donor Services for compatibility testing.

Chris Burroughs, the husband of one of the women from Sherri's Moms group was a match. So was Mark Burke, one of the regular donors Sherri met at CHOC Blood and Donor Services. Mark has been regularly donating blood for CHOC patients for the past three years. When he overheard Sherri talking about Nicole, he stepped forward to help.

Nicole ultimately needed transfusions of platelets and whole blood for each of her eight courses of chemotherapy. Chris Burroughs donated the platelets through apheresis, a process in which only platelets are removed from the blood. Mark Burke, Nicole's other designated donor, provided the rest.

Nicole is now in remission from her cancer. Her mother says knowing who was providing blood for her daughter helped ease her mind during a very difficult time.

"When people donate blood at CHOC, they are giving of themselves to help save a child's life," she says. "When you have a healthy child and life is good, you don't think about this. But when we went to CHOC, we saw how many children there were who rely on blood donations. In Nicole's case, it helped save her life."