Best Buy employee knows value of donor blood

Justin Jensen, the organizer of a blood drive today at Best Buy in Kalispell, knows that blood donations make the difference between life and death.

The blood from many strangers saved his.

“To date, I’ve had about 55 transfusions,” Jensen said.

He saw a chance to give back by organizing donation events like the one from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at his place of employment. Jensen spread the word by talking to people and putting up flyers at local stores and agencies.

“So far, I’ve got 20 to 25 people interested,” he said. “The more who donate, the happier I’ll be.”

Some people have made appointments but anyone may drop by and become a anonymous hero to someone with a life-threatening illness or another with traumatic injuries. Jensen saw so many who benefited while he was struggling to stay alive.

He was just 15 when he got very ill.

“The school nurse thought I was on drugs,” Jensen said. “I was very pale and very lethargic. One weekend, I slept a full 24 hours.”

His first doctor diagnosed him with leukemia. When he went to specialists at the University of Washington Children’s Hospital, his diagnosis was changed to aplastic anemia.

“It’s a very advanced form of anemia,” he said. “I got treated for it. But when I got back, I got sick again.”

Jensen came down with shingles, a re-emergence of the chicken pox virus. He next developed myelodysplasia in which blood cells fail to develop normally in the bone marrow.

He said his specialist gave him only a 28 percent chance of survival.

“Basically, it’s a form of pre-leukemia,” he said. “I was in Seattle getting transfusions every three days.”

He received blood, plasma, platelets and immunoglobulins. Because of the seriousness of his myelodysplasia, his physicians opted for a bone marrow transplant.

Fortunately, a match was found on the registry.

“He was a helicopter mechanic in Alabama,” Jensen said.

His procedure went well but then he got sick again. This time, Jensen came down with chronic graft-versus-host disease and his transplant was compromised.

“I have a severely diminished immune system,” he said.

 Part of his treatment was taking prednisone for 4 1/2 years along with transfusions. He suffered a side effect of an impact on bone structure.

“At 20, I had both hips replaced,” Jensen said.

Because of his compromised immune system, he must monitor how well he recovers from any virus, no matter how inconsequential. His count of one type of antibody remains well below 100 while normal levels run between 1,200 and 1,400.

If he experiences a slow recovery from any sickness, doctors may consider more transfusions. Jensen, 26, has bounced back from viruses in recent years.

“I haven’t had a transfusion in two years,” he said.

Through home schooling during his treatments, he was able to graduate from Flathead High School. He went on to earn an associates degree from Flathead Valley Community College.

He went to work as a member of the Geek Squad of computer problem solvers at Best Buy about five years ago.

While at the children’s hospital, he said the suffering of babies and children around him profoundly moved him.

“They had different cancers, brain tumors, full-blown leukemia — horrible stuff in babies,” he said. “I thought, ‘If I ever get out of this bed, I’m going to do something to help.’”

Jensen found his “something” when the employee who formerly organized blood drives at Best Buy quit. He saw an opportunity to give back in a personally meaningful way.

He contacted Red Cross Blood Services in Kalispell to set up his blood drive for today.

“People can just walk in,” Jensen said.

For those who can’t make it today, the blood services office at 126 North Meridian Drive has regular donation times on Mondays from 2 to 6 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well as various times on other days of the week. Call 755-7237 for more information.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.