Blood Transfusion

This morning on our way home from church, we got a telephone call from Dr. Boos. Emily had a few more de-saturation episodes last night and a pretty big one this morning, so Dr. Boos ordered a few blood tests to investigate. Thankfully, Emily didn't show any signs of infection (her white blood counts were normal) but her red blood count was low. His recommendation was that we give Emily a blood transfusion this afternoon. He explained that preemies often can't replace their blood cells as fast as they are using them, so it's not uncommon for preemies to need a blood transfusion. He's also hoping that by elevating her red blood count, hopefully we'll see less frequent de-saturations. Of course, with any blood transfusion there is a small risk of the baby developing an infection, but at this point it is more risky for Emily not to have the transfusion, so we told him to go ahead with it.

Luke and I went to this hospital this afternoon to be with Emily while she was receiving her blood (through an IV in her leg). She was not allowed to eat 6 hours before or after the transfusion, but she seemed calm. She did have one de-saturation episode while we were there, which was a little discouraging for me, but the nurse said she had only received half of the blood at that point and that it's still common for preemies to have de-saturation episodes, even with full blood counts.

Please continue to pray for Emily. Pray that she would not develop an infection from her blood transfusion and that we will see fewer de-saturation episodes.