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Maine man shares personal story of how blood donations saved his life

Arthur Bourget says he would not be here today if it weren't for the generosity of strangers.

PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- For nearly four years hospital stays were the norm for Arthur Bourget and his family. His daughter and wife, by his side through the fight.

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"Leukemia was not going to kill me," said Bourget.

With chemotherapy and radiation Arthur's cells were wiped out, and he needed blood transfusions.

Credit: Gordon, Lindsey

"I remember my nurse coming in, I'll never forget, the look on her face, and she kind of had this look like, she really wasn't sure what to say. I say: 'what's going on?' And she says: 'well I don't know how to tell you this but we don't have the blood that you need right now.'"

Arthur says it was hard to comprehend. Before his diagnosis, he donated frequently.

"Until I needed blood myself, I never really realized how important it was to people out there."

"It's been a rough winter," says Jeff Davis, the District Manager of donor recruitment for the state of Maine.

"This month alone we've lost roughly 300 productive units by all the blood drives we had to shut down."

That statistic doesn't include Tuesday's storm.

"I live my life everyday like there's no tomorrow," explains Bourget.

Somehow Arthur was able to get the 29 blood and 35 platelet transfusions he needed. He's now nearly 10 years in remission.

"If you gave or anybody gave blood between July 2007 and 2009 and you're A positive or O negative, it could be your blood or their blood that's in my body right now that saved my life."

NEWS CENTER Maine is teaming up with The Red Cross to host a blood drive Wednesday March 28th. You can register using the sponsor code, NEWSCENTERMAINE, by clicking here.

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