Woman details life-saving blood transfusion ahead of Boots & Badges blood drive

OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) – You can roll up your sleeve and support first responders by giving blood at the annual boots and blood drive Saturday at the Paycom Center downtown from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

It’s not much of a secret that giving blood saves countless lives. On Wednesday, KFOR spoke with someone whose life was saved by blood donations.

“I nearly died,” Destiny Knight said holding back tears. “So, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the blood donation.”

Knight said she was grateful to be standing there Wednesday morning with her young daughter, Celine. If not for about 3 units of blood, she may not have made it due to an emergency C-section after 30 hours of labor, followed by severe bleeding.

“It went from there being one nurse in my room to all of a sudden there’s 12,” she said.

She’s given blood many times, but said she never imagined she’d need a transfusion herself to survive. She said her mother-in-law was also saved by a blood donation after unexpected surgery complications. So, she’s jumping head first into the role of blood donor advocate.

“It’s a wonderful thing. It’s a selfless thing to do,” Knight said. “She wouldn’t get to have a grandmother. I wouldn’t get to have a wonderful mother in law if it wasn’t for those people that donated blood.”

On Saturday, you can roll up a sleeve and support first responders. You never know if you’re blood might change someone’s life for the better.

Knight is the daughter-in-law of someone you see on KFOR often, Msgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

The blood drive will be on the southwest corner of the arena at Oklahoma City Boulevard and South Robinson Avenue. Donors can receive a “Back the Brave” T-shirt that celebrates first responders. They can also get a kids size in that same shirt, a voucher for one free entry to either Frontier City or Hurricane Harbor and free food.

You can find more at obi.org/events/okc-boots-badges-blood-drive/ .

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