Dillon is expected to receive the second transplant in about a month. He's now in partial isolation and in a lot of pain. They're giving him morphine to control it. Their treatment, like Dillon's, may include transfusions of blood and blood products like platelets. Donors with all blood types are needed to make those platelets, which are a fragile component of blood made from whole blood donations.
Platelets have a short life-span of just five days .
Dillon's family, from Raynham and Bridgewater, is grateful the blood products Dillon needed were there for him. To help recruit blood donors, the family is helping to organize a blood drive in Dillon's honor. And they urge new donors to give the gift of life. Dillon's parents, Lori and Michael Richard, say that so many people have asked how they can help . What matters most to us is that people donate blood.