Brooke and Eli's Story

In March 2009 Brooke Hopkins went into labour early. Because of an existing health condition, Brooke had to have emergency caesarean surgery for the birth. It was a scary time, with Brooke nearly needing a blood transfusion to get through.

Baby Eli was born nearly 16 weeks premature at a tiny 638g. He lived in hospital for the first four months of his life, fighting through lung and tummy infections. It took fifteen blood transfusions to keep Eli alive. ‘Blood donors could have saved my life, but they certainly saved Eli's’ says Brooke.

Now nearly seven years old, Eli is ‘a little rocket!’ his mum laughs. ‘You’d have no idea what he went through.’ Brooke goes on to describe an affectionate little boy, who loves people and animals. ‘Once, he even decided to take flowers, a toy and a card he had made, himself, to a neighbour who was sick.’ Giving is in his nature.

Brooke isn’t able to give blood herself, but some of her friends and family do, and she encourages others to donate. ‘The truth is that some people wouldn’t survive without a blood transfusion. Giving blood is a relatively easy and simple way to save a life, or many lives. It’s an invaluable gift to the person who needs a blood transfusion and to their family.’