And I daresay that I am also speaking on behalf of all our family and loved ones, not to mention all the other patients out there who receive blood, and their families too – because, of course, the patient and the patient’s family don’t ever get to meet their benevolent & selfless blood & platelet donors.

So this opportunity is as close as we’re going to get to saying “thank you”.

And because the donors themselves don’t meet the patients to whom they donate blood, I hope those in the room yesterday found something in my daughter’s story that helps them relate to some of the desperate circumstances and situations that people find themselves in, when they need blood.

During the year following her diagnosis, Margot needed many regular red blood donations and platelet donations to keep her alive and clinically well. I can’t tell you exactly how many she needed, but it was a lot.

The reason why, in our case, we feel so unspeakably grateful to blood & platelet donors (and of course to Margot’s stem cell donor too), is that they helped give us the precious gift of time with our daughter and the gift of hope. Time and hope that we would never have enjoyed, were it not for their donations.

And during that time, Margot grew, she developed and she blossomed from being an infant, to a toddler and for 12 months longer than she might otherwise have, were it not for the benevolence & selflessness of donors.

So, on behalf of all patients & their families #THANKYOU to all the wonderful donors !

Team Margot
Together, saving lives

p.s. the beady-eyed amongst you will note that in one photo, Margot is receiving “Type O” Red Cells, yet in the other photo, she is receiving “Type A” platelets. This is because Margot’s blood was “Type O”, whereas her stem cell donor’s blood type was “Type A”. Consequently, post transplant she received “Type A” platelets !
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