UCLA leukemia patient thanks blood donors

As she received blood transfusions at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center during the last two years, Alta Ray knew the treatment could save her life but didn’t know whom to thank.

The teacher and single mother of four from South Los Angeles, who was suffering from leukemia, had given blood in the past and knew the drill: Donors remain anonymous.

Still, she felt connected to those who helped her. They were not just donating blood but platelets, the part of the blood that aids clotting. Platelet donation takes longer and can be more fatiguing, as the blood has to be removed, platelets sifted out, and the remainder transfused back into the donor.

Nurses told her that one female donor had even agreed to return for repeated donations after her platelets turned out to be a good match for Ray’s blood.

“Each time I received a unit of blood, I thanked the person -- emotionally, spiritually,” Ray, 56, said, but, “I never expected to meet them.”

Then on Friday, she did.

Hers was the first reunion of its kind at UCLA. It took staff at the blood donation center more than three years to cut through medical red tape and assemble all 11 donors, just in time for the annual blood donor recognition lunch.

Ray was curious what had led the group of strangers to help her.

“I think I know the answer,” she said. “They understand what humanity is about -- doing what you can to help somebody.”

Before the donors identified themselves, Ray stood in front of the packed room, flushed with excitement. After 93 transfusions and a stem-cell transplant last May, she had made a full recovery.

“I’m so grateful and honored to be able to look you in the eye and thank you for my life,” she said. A nurse called the donors one by one to line up beside Ray. By the time they finished, she was amazed.

“It’s all men!” Ray said, with the exception of Amy Wong, 37, a UCLA library assistant who Ray called “the queen.”

Ray said she had expected more of the donors to be women because giving blood is such a nurturing, selfless act.

“Men don’t usually do stuff like this,” she said. “That’s the stereotype.”

That’s when one of her three sons piped up. He had been giving blood recently, too. Ray had no idea.

Her donors were of various ages, races and occupations -- fire marshal, electrician, psychology student, screenwriter.

Ben Alig, a retired electrical engineer, started donating more than a decade ago after his boss was diagnosed with leukemia. His boss died, but Alig, 72, of Playa del Rey kept donating platelets every month, most recently Friday morning.

David Marks, 58, of Los Angeles lost his wife to renal cancer in 1997. She was 50. Donating blood felt like the best way to fight back at the disease, he said, even though it meant returning to the hospital where his wife died.

“I get a feeling I’m giving part of me,” Marks said before greeting Ray. “The better part.”

Those considering making platelet donations can contact the UCLA blood and platelet donation center at (310) 825-0888.

molly.hennessy-fiske@ latimes.com