Cancer patient urges people to donate blood in January
While undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma, Rose Rose, of Jefferson Hills, Allegheny County, had to get infused with platelets at least once a week. Just a few months ago, she was already lightheaded, fatigued and dizzy as an appointment to get a transfusion neared, but the facility would not have a match to provide her until the next day.
Before that day, she hadn’t really thought about who the blood donations she has made throughout her life actually helped. And although she was able to get the transfusion the following day and has now made it several weeks without needing a transfusion, Rose said it was that scare that led her to get involved in the local blood supply with Vitalant.
“I was critically low with the platelets, and they didn’t have it and I had to wait until the next day — that was really eye-opening and scary,” Rose said. “I thought, ‘This is truly saving my life, these donors.’ You don't really think of the gravity of that.”
In November, one of Rose’s friends helped set up a blood drive in her name with Vitalant, which led Rose to join in the promotion of upcoming blood drives the blood collection agency is hosting at the start of 2026.
Rose is encouraging the community to donate during January, National Blood Donor Month, to support patients like her.
Maya Santana, communications manager for Vitalant, said having community partners helps make the need for blood more personal. It can lead to an uptick in donations when they are needed most.
“It’s huge. Rose has been instrumental in raising awareness for the need for blood,” Santana said. “These help stock local hospitals with the supply they need to save lives.”
There are several Vitalant blood drives scheduled in Butler County in January — from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 19 at Haine Middle School; from 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at Cranberry Mall; from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 29 at VA Butler Healthcare; and from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at North Catholic High School.
According to Santana, Vitalant provides blood to 63 hospitals and health care centers in Pennsylvania, and the agency is the primary blood supplier for the Western Pennsylvania region. It provides blood to about 900 hospitals nationwide, but, Santana said, blood donated locally could be used to save someone within Western Pennsylvania.
“When you donate blood you have the chance to save someone’s life locally or nationwide,” Santana said.
Santana said Vitalant’s blood drives let people select the type of donation they want to make, including normal whole blood, platelets and plasma. Whole blood is the most common, she said.
Santana also explained how each donation type is used. Red blood cells support patients with trauma from blood loss and surgery; platelets are mainly transfused to patients with cancer; and plasma is for patients with severe burns and traumatic injuries in which a person loses a lot of blood.
The need for platelets hits close to home for Rose, who had been getting transfusions regularly since July. She said she wants to let others know the importance of these platelet donations, adding that she very well may not be alive today without donors constantly giving platelets.
“A few times I was critically low, which is scary in itself,” Rose said. “I never pictured the cancer patients, never, and here I am. And there are many of us with blood cancer that need transfusions daily.”
Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells within bone marrow. In the bone marrow, the cancer cells crowd out healthy blood cells. Rather than make helpful antibodies, the cancer cells make proteins that don't work right. This leads to complications of multiple myeloma, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Rose was diagnosed with the disease in August 2024. She received radiation and chemotherapy as the myeloma prevented her platelets from replenishing themselves in her bone marrow. She had a stem cell transplant in December of that year, which was supposed to help keep the cancer at bay. It ultimately led to her needing to have infusions every week.
Rose said receiving blood and platelets so often made her consider where the supply was coming from, even when it took an extra day to get a matching blood type to infuse her with.
“Pretty much every time I needed a blood transfusion I would get it the next day because they needed to find it,” Rose said. “That also is just mind-blowing that there is another person out there that has antibodies that help keep me alive.”
There has been some good news in Rose’s cancer journey. In October, she had an infusion of CAR T cells, a cell-based gene therapy that alters the genes in a person’s T cells, a type of white blood cell, to help them attack cancer cells, according to the American Cancer Society. Rose said this has made her feel better and she hasn’t needed a transfusion in weeks.
After making it through some health scares in 2025, thanks to blood donors, Rose said it’s important that she helps other people make it to the same point she is at now.
“I feel so good about it. I'm able to help out,” Rose said. “I'm thrilled to do this, raise the awareness.”
Santana said the efforts of everyday people in keeping the blood supply stocked are integral to ensuring everyone who needs a transfusion is able to get one as soon as possible. It’s especially difficult around the winter, when sickness and weather mess with people’s schedules, so Rose’s promotion of the drives is helping to make a difference.
“Especially during this time of year when weather can be unpredictable … we have a lot of blood drives canceled, and we see blood drives with lower turnout,” Santana said. “It's important for people who can donate to make an appointment.”
For more information on Vitalant’s blood drives, visit its website at vitalant.org, then navigate to “Donate now.”
