A mother who needed 65 units of blood products while giving birth and was told it was “a medical miracle that I’m still here” has met the NHS staff who urgently sent blood to the hospital.
Adele Darlington suffered a massive bleed while giving birth to her daughter Jasmine just before Christmas last year.
Mrs Darlington, 41, of Stockton Heath in Warrington, needed blood, plasma, cryoprecipitate and platelets during emergency surgery including a hysterectomy to save her life at the end of November 2023.
“My husband was told to call in family to prepare to say goodbye, but thanks to everyone’s work I got to spend Christmas with my family and new daughter,” the mother-of-five said during an NHS appeal for Christmas and New Year blood donors.
Mrs Darlington, who had placenta previa, a condition where the placenta partly or completely blocks the cervix, started bleeding during a planned C-section and lost 15 litres of blood in total. An average woman’s body contains just under five litres.
After a four-hour operation during the C-section, she underwent another nine hours of surgery for a hysterectomy, tube and ovary removal and partial cervix and bladder removal.
During surgery, Mrs Darlington received 28 units of red blood cells, 20 units of fresh frozen plasma, nine units of cryoprecipitate, and eight units of platelets – the biggest transfusion at the hospital since 2000.
NHS Blood and Transplant’s Liverpool team had to send nine emergency orders overnight to Warrington Hospital for Mrs Darlington and other patients, as a huge team of nurses and doctors, including four surgeons operating at once, worked to save her life.
To thank staff and support the Christmas appeal for blood donors, Mrs Darlington visited the regional centre which sent most of the blood for her care.
Staff laid out the exact number of units of blood products she received to illustrate how much help she needed.
Mrs Darlington said: “It’s been a really humbling experience to meet some of the people who sent blood when I had my transfusion, it’s been a really special day.
“It was unbelievable to see the same quantity of blood that I received laid out, knowing that it took so many people to save me. I’m forever indebted to the more than 65 people who gave me the gift of life.
“I never thought in a million years that this would happen to me, but trauma and the need for a lot of blood can happen to anyone at any time, including at Christmas, so I would urge anyone who is able to donate to please do so.”
I remember crying and saying ‘I think I'm dying’ and telling the theatre staff that I was scared to go to sleep because I didn’t think I would wake up
Mrs Darlington said she vaguely remember Jasmine being born during the C-section before she passed out.
“By this point I’d already lost six litres of blood and it was thought that I’d stabilised, but in the recovery room it become evident that I was still internally bleeding so I was urgently rushed back into theatre,” she said.
“They told me I needed a hysterectomy to save my life.
“I had this sense of doom that I would not make it.
“My blood pressure and heart rate were at dangerous levels.
“I remember crying and saying: ‘I think I’m dying’, and telling the theatre staff that I was scared to go to sleep because I didn’t think I would wake up.”
Mrs Darlington’s condition was so severe she developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a blood-clotting problem in trauma patients so severe it is sometimes informally referred to as ‘death is coming’.
“I was told it’s a medical miracle that I’m still here,” Mrs Darlington said.
She added: “I’m still on a road to recovery I am just forever grateful that I am here. I am very aware that I shouldn’t be.
“All of these amazing people worked together to save me.
“Blood donors might think it’s not a big thing to donate – they donate and they have a hot drink and a biscuit – but I can’t thank them enough.
“I will be eternally grateful to these selfless donors who took time to voluntarily donate and ultimately save my life.”
Her husband Ian, who owns a media business, has signed up as a blood donor, along with many friends and family members.
Julie Riley from NHSBT Liverpool Hospital Services, said: “I was on shift issuing the blood, and meeting Adele was absolutely beautiful.
“We don’t normally get to meet anyone – we work in labs for eight hours a day. I am glad she got home for her little kiddies.”
Michael Kay, NHSBT blood delivery driver, said: “It was the end of my shift but I stayed on to do a blue-light delivery and it’s just amazing to find out it went to Adele”.
Chris Philips, NHSBT head of hospital customer service, said: “It was incredibly moving to see Adele visit our teams because that night is very clear in their memories – they won’t forget it any time soon.
“This is an amazing example of NHS teams working together but without donors none of this would have happened.”
England remains in amber alert for low blood stocks. To register or book an appointment to give blood, visit blood.co.uk/, use the GiveBlood app or call 0300 123 23 23.
