Doctors Say New Mom is a "True Miracle"
This 33-gallon container wouldn’t hold all of the donated blood products she received within 24 hours of delivery
Placenta Percreta happens in less than 1% of all pregnancies
Mom, dad & baby come back to University Hospital to thank the team
BACKGROUND: The obstetricians, trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, urologists, specialized nurses and technicians assembled in the OB operating room at University Hospital knew they needed to have lots of blood ready to go when it was time to deliver Gina Walker’s baby. A few years ago, another patient with the same condition ended up needing more than 70 units. Yet, even with all of their preparation, they couldn’t have imagined Mrs. Walker would require 540 units (33.75 gallons) of donated blood products to replace what was literally pouring out of her body due to the complications of placenta percreta, an extremely rare pregnancy complication. As they put out an emergency call to all eligible staff to rush to the hospital’s blood bank to donate – since she was quickly going through their reserves – surgeons knew the odds of her surviving this type of blood loss and rapid replacement were very low. And, even if she did live, the likelihood that she would retain total brain function was even worse. How did she do? Just ask her doctors, who don’t generally use the term “miracle” but who can’t think of another, more appropriate, word.
To put into perspective: It is fairly common for the University Hospital trauma team to give 100 units of blood to a severely injured patient – 540 units in 24 hours is just unheard of.
WHO:
Gina Walker, husband Dustin and their perfectly healthy baby Addison; Her lifesaving team at University Hospital
Team leaders, Dr. Jason Parker and Dr. Kevin Hall, UT Medicine San Antonio
WHAT:
Celebrating a true miracle & understanding the importance of blood donation
WHEN:
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 10a.m.
WHERE:
University Hospital, 4502 Medical Drive (meet in the lobby)
**Due to construction, some media parking is available at the main entrance. If that is full, please park in the garage and take the shuttle to the main entrance. Call 421-8489 if you have any problems.
