A blood recipient is now urging others to become blood donors. Minneapolis mom, Annie Sterle, is organizing a blood drive after nearly losing her life during childbirth.
Annie Sterle says she walked into Abbott Northwestern, happy and ready to give birth, never thinking she might not walk out.
The 30-year-old, mom of one, is now a survivor of amniotic fluid embolism or AFE, a rare and life-threatening condition.
According to the Mayo Clinic, AFE is spontaneous, meaning it can happen to any pregnant woman, at any time.
"About 12 hours into labor, I went into respiratory distress. I was taken for an emergency C-section," said Sterle.
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"My son was delivered," she continued, "he had an Apgar score of zero, but he was quickly resuscitated. I, on the other hand, went into cardiac arrest. And I rested for about 50 minutes, before they were able to put me on something called ECMO, basically the highest form of life support. I ended up being comatose."
Sterle says she also suffered numerous strokes during her AFE event.
Besides her treatment team, Sterle says a blood transfusion saved her life. Amid the blood supply shortage, Sterle hopes by drawing attention to her situation, others will donate blood.
"Don't wait until it's you," she warned. "My biggest regret is I never gave blood before this event. I didn't like needles. I don't like looking at blood, it makes me kind of queasy. And so I said it wasn't my job," she confessed.
If you can't donate blood, Sterle says you can donate funds for AFE research here.
"My life is owed to people who gave blood."