From a Lifetime of Giving to Others, to a Lifeline Given by Strangers

By Emma Fermo, Red Cross writer

For most of her life, Debora Johnson was the one doing the giving.

The 70-year-old Gorham resident spent 42 years shaping the early lives of children, as a preschool teacher, childcare administrator, and family support specialist in Portland, Oregon. Deb, now retired, donates quilts she makes to Ronald McDonald House, kids’ camps, and hospice groups. 

Giving, in all its forms, came naturally to her. 

Debora Johnson

During October 2024, after weeks of feeling ill, Deb was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-growing blood cancer. She was admitted to Maine Medical Center. Within 24 hours, she had received three units of blood. Over the next five months, through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, she would receive either blood or platelets – sometimes both – during and after every hospital stay. 

It wasn’t until her diagnosis that she found herself on the other side of giving: need. And the American Red Cross blood supply became something she never expected to need: a lifeline. 

After the first three transfusions, Deb was able to climb stairs without strain, small victories. The donated blood was working, hemoglobin levels rising... but with the relief came a quiet, lingering thought: 

“Gosh, I hope they have blood the next time I need it.”

And they did, every time.

Throughout her treatment, Deb’s care team monitored her hemoglobin levels several times a week. When they came back too low, she received another blood transfusion. The rhythm kept her stable long enough to ensure endurance through her lifesaving stem cell transplant that knocked out all signs of leukemia. By early April of 2025, she no longer needed any blood or blood products. 

Through her entire treatment process, Deb reflects that she could not help but think not just about her own survival, but about her aging father. 

“I can't die before my father,” she recalls thinking. Her father, who turns 100 this year, had already lost two people he loved. “I really didn't want to be the third.”

She didn’t have to be. Nearly a year post-transplant, Deb is cancer free. 

She knows she didn’t get here alone.

“It makes a difference to people, it's a life and death thing,” she says. “If I hadn't had blood, I don’t know how long I would have lived. Every time I went through chemo, I had blood transfusions. And without that blood, I don’t know how long I would have lasted if I hadn’t gone to the doctor when I did.”

For Deb, her gratitude extends beyond herself. She thinks about her father, her family, the people who showed up to donate without ever knowing who would need it. 

“It’s not just you,” she says, “It affects your family too.”

Today, Deb looks forward to those small victories... walking her dog, Tug, along the Eastern Promenade and getting back to gardening, mowing the lawn and even plucking the weeds that have grown green and healthy.

“I am forever grateful to all who donate,” she says. “And always thankful that blood was available when I needed it most.”

Be a lifeline for a patient in need. Roll up a sleeve to donate blood. Eligible individuals are encouraged to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).