DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hospitals and blood centers are always trying to avoid shortages. Someone needs blood every two seconds, and less than 10% of the eligible U.S. population donates annually.

For one Fontanelle, Iowa woman, a perfect-match platelet donation helped save her life.

Andrea McNeese, 33, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on August 15. In the weeks following, she was hospitalized at Iowa Methodist Medical Center and given 13 transfusions of platelet blood donations. But they weren't reacting well with her body until the 14th donation.

“The amazing team that I had said, ‘okay, stop, we've got to do something. We've got to investigate a little bit further to find a different answer.’ And with LifeServe’s help, they did a gene test on my blood and was able to find

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