Tel Aviv mother meets the blood donors who saved her life after severe postpartum hemorrhage

Ten days after giving birth to her first daughter, 36-year-old Yael Bibi of Tel Aviv suddenly began feeling unwell. She called her husband home from work, and when he arrived and helped her toward the bathroom, she lost consciousness briefly and then began bleeding heavily, with large blood clots. An HMO nurse sent an ambulance, and Magen David Adom crews rushed her to Wolfson Medical Center in critical condition.

Doctors found that the massive hemorrhage had caused a severe, life-threatening clotting disorder. Bibi was taken immediately for complex emergency surgery, even though she said she did not want another operation after her cesarean section. “They said they had to save my life, there was no time,” she recalled. During surgery she received about 50 units of blood and blood components, but then developed a rare and severe reaction to the transfusions that can cause respiratory failure and reduced oxygen delivery. She was sedated and ventilated in intensive care until her condition stabilized.

Two days later she woke up unable to move her body. She cried, worried about the baby she had left at home, and asked to see photos to make sure she was okay. Her condition gradually improved, and she was weaned off the ventilator and feeding tube before being transferred to the gynecology ward. She was discharged after a week and has since been undergoing intensive rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological treatment.

Last week, four months after the incident, Bibi attended a blood-donors conference at MDA’s blood bank labs in Ramla and met nine people who had donated the blood that saved her life. She called it “the most powerful moment” she had ever experienced and said the donors represented “a melting pot” of Israeli society. One donor, 30-year-old Yohan from Eli, said hearing that his donation helped save a young mother was “the best news possible.” MDA says that in the past year Israel collected 267,407 blood units, with 65.6% donated by men and 34.4% by women, and that Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv led in donations. The blood services are urging the public to donate year-round.