KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Northland woman met half a dozen blood donors who saved her life when she gave birth to her son nearly two years ago.

This mom is celebrating her son’s life by introducing him to the formerly anonymous donors who made it all possible.

Katherine Bredemeier was 38 weeks pregnant in September of 2020, when her liver ruptured.

She underwent an emergency cesarean section to give birth to her son, William, and she and her son needed a massive blood transfusion to survive.

More than 20 blood products were transfused into her system at a time when blood donations were hard to come by, at the height of the pandemic.

Tuesday morning she got to say thank you to half a dozen of those blood donors.

“Not only was my team of doctors and nurses a miracle but all of my donors too, because without them I wouldn’t be able to see him grow up,” Bredemeier said. “So I kind of think not everyone gets to go to their celebration of life but I kind of look at this as my celebration of life and I get to be here and celebrate with the people who saved mine.”

Getting to meet the recipient of a blood donation is a very rare event, according to the Community Blood Center.

Six of Bredemeier’s blood donors say they were grateful to see how they made a difference in one family’s lives and by putting a face on their donations, they hope to encourage others to join them in giving blood.

The Community Blood Center says donations are still needed every day for patients at local hospitals.

Many blood products are still considered to be in short supply.