"I can't express how grateful we are:" Shorewood family dealing with blood disorder says thank you



MILWAUKEE -- A Shorewood family dealing with a blood disorder is said 'thank you' on Thursday, March 30th. They're alive thanks to blood donations.

Blood donors filled the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday for the 17th annual Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive -- and it meant the world to Adelaide Yost's family.

"I can't express how grateful we are," said Katie Yost.

Seven-year-old Adelaide Yost suffers from a common blood disorder called Von Willebrand Disease. The disease is genetic. Adelaide's mom, Katie, is a carrier.

"It leads to a lot of bruising and bleeding," said Yost.

Katie and Adelaide Yost



The disorder landed Adelaide in the hospital a couple of years ago.

"It truly was scary at the time," said Katie Yost.

Adelaide gets blood infusions several times a week.

Adelaide Yost



"You can do everything that all the other kids do, but if you would get hurt, you just have to be more careful about it," said Katie Yost.

The BloodCenter of Wisconsin's annual Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive came at an important time. It was just 10 days ago the BloodCenter was alarmingly low on all blood types, and officials put out an emergency appeal.

"We saw a huge outpouring of donors. In fact, we couldn't even accommodate the appointments last week, so a lot of those folks are at this blood drive," said Fay Spano, director of PR for the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive



Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive



The BloodCenter of Wisconsin is the exclusive provider of blood to 56 Wisconsin hospitals. They need 700 to 800 donors a day to keep up with the demand.

The blood donations are important for ER patients -- and families like the Yosts.

BloodCenter of Wisconsin



They said they're grateful for the kindness of strangers.

"Every time we get out the medication and start mixing that up, we think about how many people it takes to keep us healthy and safe," said Yost.

Milwaukee Bucks Blood Drive



The community blood drive will be open to donors until 7:00 p.m. Thursday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center (1001 N. Fourth St., Milwaukee). There will be free parking for donors in the BMO Harris Bradley Center parking ramp just west of the arena on Sixth Street, as well as complimentary childcare.

To give thanks toward those giving life-changing contributions, the Bucks will provide all attempting donors with a voucher redeemable for two tickets to a future Bucks game this season. The vouchers can be used for the games this Friday, March 31st, vs. the Detroit Pistons (7:00 p.m. tip) or Monday, April 10th, vs. the Charlotte Hornets (7:00 p.m. tip).