Today! Stories from local community members show the power of blood and stem cell donation
Nov 18, 2025 09:11AM ● By Content Editor
Martina (left), Ashley (middle), and Robert (right) shared their stories of receiving life-saving blood transfusions or blood stem cell transplants. Photos provided
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - November 14, 2025
As the statewide Give to the Max Day approaches, over 50 community members have signed up for the Boreal Community Media (BCM) "Give Life to the Max" blood drive and blood stem cell donor registry event. The event will take place on Tuesday, November 18, at The Hub, and there are still appointments available to donate blood (the blood stem cell donor registry event does not require appointments).
With the event, BCM aims to give gratitude for the most important thing, life, celebrate this year's Give to the Max Day, and also address the demand for life-saving blood, increase the number of donors for the national blood stem cell donor registry, and offer community members a way to support BCM's local work. We have a goal of raising $500 this Give to the Max Day, and we need your help.
To highlight the importance of these life-saving efforts, BCM has shared the stories of three community members whose lives were changed by blood or stem cell donations.
Ashley Konop: Emergency Blood Transfusion
Local Ashley Konop's life was unexpectedly dependent on the ready availability of donated blood. She shared with BCM that she had been experiencing debilitating pain and was rushed to North Shore Health, where doctors discovered she had suffered a burst hemorrhagic cyst, leading to severe internal blood loss.
"I never imagined being a person who would need a blood transfusion," Konop shared. Her condition was critical; lab work showed her hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body, at a dangerously low level of 5, near organ failure. Doctors immediately began a transfusion, using a total of four bags of blood to stabilize her.
According to Memorial Blood Centers (MBC), someone in the United States needs blood every 2 seconds. Blood is essential not only for trauma or surgery patients but also for sudden emergencies, cancer treatment, those giving birth, organ transplant recipients, and more. Earlier this year, Minnesota faced a critical blood shortage with less than a two-day supply.
Read Ashley's full story here.
Martina Summer Hall: Blood Stem Cell Transplant for Leukemia
Cook County native Martina Summer Hall was diagnosed with chronic myeloid monocytic leukemia (CMML) at the age of two. Her treatment required a life-saving blood stem cell (formerly known as bone marrow) transplant at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital.
With no compatible match among her family members, Martina relied on the national donor registry. In fact, approximately 70% of patients who need a transplant must find a compatible, non-family donor through the registry. In Martina's instance, a non-relative donor in California was a match. Now an adult, she shared that she is "beyond grateful" for her donor and for her ongoing health, and hopes her story will "encourage others to be a donor."
Read Martina's full story here.
Robert Hackett: Blood Stem Cell Transplant for Myelofibrosis
Robert Hackett received a diagnosis of Myelofibrosis on his 50th birthday, a form of bone marrow cancer, following a routine blood draw that showed an unusually high platelet count of 1.4 million. His prognosis was a 50/50 chance of the cancer being cured with a stem cell transplant, or a 14% chance to live another 5 years without one. Robert chose the transplant.
Like Martina, none of his family members was a sufficient match. Hackett was matched with an anonymous, unrelated donor, a 29-year-old male from the United States, a person he still hopes to one day thank for giving him a second chance at life.
Hackett describes the transplant as his "survivor birthday" and, despite facing complications like Graft vs. Host disease, is now able to live a "very normal life" and care for his family. He passionately encourages others: “To anyone thinking of joining the registry for donations, let me encourage you to give back a life to someone like me!”
Read Robert's full story here.
Give Life to the Max: Three Ways You Can Help Tuesday, November 18
Boreal Community Media has partnered with Memorial Blood Centers and the NMDP to make giving easy and convenient.
Bonus: Every blood donor and individual who swabs for the registry will receive a free Boreal Community Media mug as a thank-you!
1. Give Life: Blood Donation
Donate blood on the Memorial Blood Center bus parked at The Hub from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments are still available and are required for all donors.
On the day of giving blood, donors should:
- Eat a good meal
- Drink Plenty of Fluids
- Bring an ID
- Plan to register inside The Hub before going to the bus.
Can't make it to Grand Marais on the 18th, but still want to give blood? A separate blood drive is taking place in Tofte on November 17, hosted by the West End Community.
2. Give Life: Blood Stem Cell Donor Registry
Join the national registry with a quick and simple cheek swab at The Hub from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 18th. You do the swab, we'll handle sending in the kit.
Please note: Only potential donors aged 18-35 are eligible to be added to the registry. According to NMDP, medical professionals prefer younger donors in nearly 80% of transplant requests, based on scientific evidence showing better long-term survival rates for patients.
You can register as a potential donor if you’re:
- Between the ages of 18 and 35
- A resident of the U.S., its territories, or freely associated states
- Able to meet NMDP health guidelines
- Not already registered through another U.S. organization
Learn more about the process of joining the registry and see if you're eligible here.
3. Give Your Support: Boreal Community Media
Boreal Community Media is a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to keeping communities connected through daily online local news, stories, free classified ads, an event calendar, and hosting free community events such as tech support during the summer.
Your financial support directly funds these efforts and operational needs, ensuring that this local resource remains free and accessible to all.
Your financial gift to Boreal Community Media in honor of Give to the Max Day helps sustain initiatives like the ones mentioned above. We have a goal of raising $500 this Give to the Max Day, and we need your help to reach it! Every little bit helps.
A huge thank you to Memorial Blood Centers and NMPD for partnering with us for this Give to the Max Day event, and to The Hub for allowing us to use their space for the event that day!
