‘Truly saves people’s lives’: Arlington mom honored for prolific blood donation
An Arlington mom who was inspired to become a prolific blood donor after her 14-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer is being honored for her donations.
Latorra Garland is being inducted into Fresenius Kabi’s National Blood Donation Hall of Fame, one of just 13 inductees nationwide.
The health care company, which makes injectable medications and technologies for infusions and transfusions, inducted Garland and 12 others into its hall of fame Oct. 22.
Garland has always been a blood donor, but things changed when her son Jacob was diagnosed with a progressive osteosarcoma — a type of bone cancer — in 2022. Jacob’s ailments started with just a sore knee, and at first doctors just thought he was suffering from growing pains. But when the pain persisted, and Jacob’s knee became hot to the touch, an MRI revealed his diagnosis.
Jacob was quickly treated with chemotherapy, after which he suffered from respiratory distress that put him in the hospital. Jacob wasn’t speaking and couldn’t breathe on his own, Garland said. After several days of Jacob being seriously ill, nurses asked Garland if they would consent to a blood transfusion for Jacob. Garland, willing to try anything, said yes.
The difference was night and day, she said.
“Probably after the second or third infusion, he was literally back to his old self,” Garland said.
Garland consented to about 10 total blood transfusions while Jacob was in treatment, she said, and each time they helped Jacob in his treatment.
Now, Garland donates blood as often as she is able, usually about every eight weeks. (Donors must wait at least eight weeks between blood donations, according to the American Red Cross.) The most crucial thing blood donations offer patients like her son is more time with their families, she said. Jacob ultimately died 77 days after he was diagnosed, after the cancer had spread to his brain, Garland said. But the blood transfusions he received throughout his treatment gave him precious time.
With that time, his family celebrated Jacob’s 14th birthday, and decorated his hospital room with LED lights and balloons. The made his favorite foods and served him birthday cake, and they gifted him red and black Nike Dunk shoes.
Jacob never got to wear them. He died 30 days after his birthday celebration.
Garland now donates blood every chance she gets, she said. She started a nonprofit in her son’s memory, called Jacob Way. The nonprofit supports children fighting cancer, and also promotes blood donation.
“One of our biggest initiatives is making sure that we highlight the importance of blood donations, especially in [the Black] community,” Garland said.
Diversity in the blood donation supply is particularly important for patients with sickle cell disease, who need frequent blood transfusions to prevent complications from their disease, according to the American Red Cross. One in three Black blood donors is a match for people with sickle cell disease, according to the Red Cross.
Today, more than three years after Jacob’s death, Garland continues to regularly donate in honor of her son, who she called “the strongest person I know.”
“I just want people to know that donating blood, it truly saves people’s lives,” Garland said. “It gives them time.”
If you’re interested in donating blood, go to donatingblood.org to find a nearby donation center.
