It's rare that a blood donor and a recipient get to connect but that's exactly what happens on this episode of Bloodworks 101 when frequent platelet donor Dan Ertel meets Mack Bell, a 30-year-old African-American man living with cerebral palsy, who contracted a potentially-deadly blood condition called aplastic anemia. That's a deficiency of all types of blood cells caused by failure of bone marrow development.
Mack, as you'll discover, was the recipient of several transfusions that played a big role in the effort to save his life. So, here's what happens when someone with a lot to be grateful for gets to thank someone who wasn't expecting it. Not by a long shot.