Colorado man defies the odds after receiving record blood donation
DENVER (KDVR) — It's the gift of life that saved the life of a Colorado man following a bad crash last year.
Ahead of World Blood Donor Day this Saturday, FOX31 spoke to a former patient who defied the odds and is now thanking hundreds of blood donors after he received a record blood donation.
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'I learned that your life can be gone in an instant,' said Nicholas Jackson. 'I hit a nasty patch of road and gravel and I lost control of the motorcycle I was on.'
Jackson says that the crash was a defining moment in his life, on June 15, 2024, along Highway 105 near Castle Rock.
'I was launched into a field – and I had to be found,' Jackson recounted. 'My injuries, oh man, they were out of this world.'
Jackson suffered a traumatic brain injury, two broken femurs, spine and neck injuries, broken hands and trauma to his abdomen in the crash.
'He was really touch and go,' described Dr. Kaysie Banton of HCA Health One Swedish Hospital, who led his care team after he was airlifted to the hospital's ICU, where he stayed for 48 days.
'His injury severity score would put him in the probably not salvageable, not survivable – grave condition,' Banton said.
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Despite the grim outlook, Jackson did survive, thanks to more than 500 life-saving blood donations that amounted to 274 units of blood.
'We had to drain our own blood supply, borrowing from six different hospitals, borrowing from two different blood banks … but you can see what we've done with that,' Banton said.
The donations gave Jackson a second chance at life and a chance to help others who need life-saving blood.
'Life savers—that's exactly what they are,' Jackson said. 'I am just so thankful for everybody involved, who has ever done that, who has ever contributed or donated- I am so thankful for each and every one of them … it's because of them, I'm still living.'
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