Indianapolis Mom Says Blood Donors Saved Preemie Son Born 9 Weeks Early

Charity Schmidt watched her infant son fight for his life in a neonatal intensive care unit, weighing just 2 pounds and 14 ounces after being born nine weeks early. Today, Levi is home, growing, and playing with his big brother Tanner — and his mother says it's because strangers rolled up their sleeves to donate blood.

Levi was born on January 24 at 31 weeks gestational age, and was later diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung condition that can affect premature babies, according to WTHR. He needed multiple blood transfusions during his hospital stay, and Schmidt said there was a point when she thought her son was not going to survive.

Schmidt believes those donations played a critical role in keeping Levi alive, and blood donors enabled the transfusions that got him through the most dangerous stretch of his young life, the station's report notes. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is the most common chronic lung disease affecting babies born before 32 weeks gestation, often arising from lung tissue inflammation tied to mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy, according to research reviewed by the National Institutes of Health. Modern NICU care aims to deliver gentler respiratory support while keeping blood oxygen levels stable through targeted transfusions like the ones Levi received.

Why Preemies Depend So Heavily on Donated Blood

Transfusions like Levi's are far from rare in NICUs. Clinical data reviewed by the National Institutes of Health shows that between 40% and more than 90% of extremely low birth weight infants — those born under 1,000 grams — receive at least one red blood cell transfusion during their neonatal intensive care stay, per research published on PMC. Premature infants often develop anemia because their bodies don't yet produce enough natural erythropoietin, combined with rapid growth demands and frequent blood draws for diagnostic testing.

Indiana's own numbers underscore how common Levi's early arrival was. The 2025 March of Dimes Report Card, released in February, gave Indiana a D grade for infant and maternal health, citing a 10.9% preterm birth rate that accounted for 8,766 premature infants born in the state in 2024, according to the March of Dimes. That rate places Indiana 34th in the nation. The disparities run deeper still, with Black infants in Indiana experiencing a 14.8% preterm birth rate between 2022 and 2024, compared to 10.4% for white infants, the organization's data shows.

A National Shortage Collides With Local Need

Levi's story arrives as the American Red Cross is asking people to donate blood after reporting a decline in donations nationwide. On July 27, the organization declared its second-ever national blood supply crisis after donations hit a four-year summer low and type O positive supplies fell below a single day's reserve, according to the American Red Cross. Severe summer heat, air quality problems, and seasonal travel all contributed to lower donor turnout even as hospital demand kept climbing.

The scale of that reliance is staggering. The Red Cross supplies roughly 40% of the nation's blood products to more than 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers, and it needs about 13,000 blood donations and 3,000 platelet donations every single day just to keep pace, per Nurse.org. Blood cannot be manufactured synthetically, and donated red blood cells last a maximum of 42 days under refrigeration, while platelets expire in just five days at room temperature — meaning hospitals can never simply stockpile their way out of a shortfall.

Indiana has its own infrastructure feeling that pressure. Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, one of the state's primary blood collectors alongside the Red Cross, supplies blood products and specialty services to more than 80 hospitals statewide and collects over 130,000 units of blood every year, according to Versiti. The center supplies major regional health systems including Indiana University Health and Ascension St. Vincent. Hoodline previously reported on a similar Indiana shortage in a 2024 urgent donation appeal.

Central Indiana's Two-Day Push to 'Knock Out The Need'

To address the gap locally, WTHR and the American Red Cross Indiana Region are hosting the two-day “Knock Out The Need” blood drive on September 2 and 3, spanning seven Central Indiana locations including Indianapolis, Carmel/Noblesville, Bloomington, Brownsburg, Columbus, Greenfield, and Kokomo. The annual joint initiative is timed to counter the late-summer blood shortfalls that tend to follow back-to-school transitions and disrupted routines.

More donors may now be eligible to participate than in years past. In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its donor eligibility guidance to implement individual risk-based screening questions for all potential donors, eliminating historical blanket deferrals and widening the pool of people who can give, as Hoodline has reported. The change assesses donor safety based on individual behavior rather than broad categorical restrictions.

For Schmidt, the appeal is personal rather than statistical. She has watched Levi go from a fragile 2-pound, 14-ounce infant fighting for every breath to a baby who is home, growing, and playing with his big brother Tanner. Her message, as she's shared it, is that the donors she never met made that outcome possible — and that the next family counting on a transfusion could be anyone's.