Yoney’s drive brings in more than 100 donors
Morgan Yoney holds her father, Robert Yoney’s hand while he gives blood in her honor. Morgan Yoney teamed up with Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh for a month-long blood drive that ended Wednesday in Waynesburg.
Morgan Yoney stands next to her parents, Tammy and Robert Yoney, as her father donates blood in Morgan’s honor Wednesday afternoon at the Waynesburg Armory.
WAYNESBURG – A monthlong blood drive in Morgan Yoney’s name ended Wednesday in Waynesburg with more than 100 people registered to donate blood in her honor.
Yoney, 22, of Spraggs, teamed up with Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh in an effort to turn the support she’s received from the community into action.
“People will say to me ‘I’m afraid of needles,'” Yoney said. “And I’m like, ‘I’m afraid of transplants but here I am, so you better be there too.'”
According to Kristen Lane, spokesperson for Central Blood Bank, more than 126 people registered as part of Yoney’s drive, more than they typically get for similar drives.
“This is much more well attended because of her support,” Lane said. “For being so sick, she’s reached out to so many people.”
Yoney said in July she hoped the drive would spread awareness of the need for blood donations – an issue that resonates with her because of the many blood transfusions she’s had over the course of her life.
As a baby, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which the lungs and digestive system are clogged with mucus, often resulting in liver and lung transplants. She had both transplants done in 2010, when she was 15, but three years later, discovered her body was rejecting the lungs.
She’s been waiting for nearly two years for her second double-lung transplant.
The last day of the drive was held from noon to 6 p.m. at National Guard Readiness Center in EverGreene Technology Park. Yoney’s father, Robert, her grandparents and her best friend, Robi Arbogast, gave blood.
“I didn’t know that many people donated,” Morgan Yoney said. “It’s exciting.”
Her mother, Tammy, said several people she didn’t even know walked in Wednesday to donate blood.
“It’s nice to have the support because there’s such a great need for blood donations,” she said.