Finley and Quinn

Melissa Petri-Gunn spent only 10 minutes with her newborn twin daughters before being rushed back into surgery to have three life saving blood transfusions.

Approximately six in 1,000 pregnancies result in the mother needing the procedure following childbirth; a statistic that Petri-Gunn never imagined being part of.

"I was admitted to Christ Hospital and delivered my twin daughters, Finley and Quinn, via cesarean section at 35 weeks. I had excessive blood loss due to problems with the placenta detaching," she said.

Petri-Gunn always knew the importance of blood donation, since she has donated more than 20 times beginning at the age of 17 as a student at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati.

"I became a blood donor because it was something I could do to help others," Petri-Gunn said. "I was saving lives. I felt like it was truly the only way for me to make a BIG difference in the lives of others. It was the right thing to do."

She is extremely grateful for the doctors, nurses and blood donors that saved her life.

"I hope that my story will inspire others to become blood donors, she said. "You never know whose life you will save. I look forward to being allowed to donate again. As long as I'm able and there is a need, I'll keep trying to donate."