Julie Christensen Memorial Blood Drive offers a second chance to donate blood in April

The regular monthly blood drive was held Monday, April 5 at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon, but an additional second blood drive is also being offered in April.

Thanks to the efforts of the Christensen family, the Julie Christensen Memorial Blood Drive will be held Wednesday, April 21 at the Waukon Wellness Center from 1-5:30 p.m. in the Senior Center.

Julie Christensen was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia November 27, 2019 and was in the hospital until February 14, 2020. She was then able to come home for a short while before she was admitted back into the hospital March 7, 2020 for more chemo and a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in Germany. It was a perfect match. Julie’s stem cells grafted well and she became Leukemia free.  During this time, Julie received 45 units of blood and 38 units of platelets.

With these generous donors, Julie was able to spend more time with her family, see her third grandchild born and hold him several times. In appreciation, her family has organized the Julie Christensen Memorial Blood Drive to encourage more donors to start and continue to be blood donors, giving the gift of life.

For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate blood at the April 21 blood drive in honor of Julie Christensen, call 800-287-4903. Appointments are required.