Leukemia Survivor Meets, Thanks LI Blood Donors For Live-Saving Deeds

WOODBURY, NY —A Massapequa woman who survived leukemia recently thanked the special individuals who saved her life.

The New York Blood Center (NYBC) on Wednesday introduced Aliyah Petrone, who was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of AML Leukemia in 2017, to six blood donors who provided her life-saving transfusions.

Petrone met the blood donors — Kim Rognon, Bob Rozakis, Charles Alarcon, David Woodworth, Christian Slesinger and Gordon Tubbs — at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, a release said.

Petrone was diagnosed during her freshman year of college. During her treatment, she received 24 units of blood at Northwell Health Cohens’ Children’s Hospital.

“I am so grateful to all of my blood donors for taking the time to make a blood donation, each donation was crucial to my cancer treatment and is why I am able to be here with my friends and family today,” said Petrone. “While making a blood donation only takes one hour, these acts of kindness have a huge impact on the lives of patients like me. Thank you to New York Blood Center for introducing me to my donors and for ensuring that patients get the blood donations they need.”

Since the year of her diagnosis, Petrone hosts an annual blood drive as a way of giving back, since receiving blood transfusions was such a crucial part of her treatment.

She never took a single donation for granted, a release said.

Today, she is in remission and works as a dancer and dance teacher.

“From hosting blood drives to raising awareness of the constant need for donations, Aliyah has been an incredible advocate for NYBC. We were thrilled to have the chance to introduce Aliyah to her donors and say thank you to them for making the blood donations that saved her life,” said Christine Foran, Director at New York Blood Center. “We hope this special event inspires Long Islanders to make donating blood a lifelong habit.”

Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month.