Local Baby Born After Rare In Utero Procedure Thanks To Blood Donors

A local baby is about to celebrate her first Christmas thanks to blood donors.

Doctors at Mercy performed a life-saving in utero blood transfusion on Zoey Murray, which required special donations.

At about 28 weeks in, the baby’s mother, Bailey Murray, learned there was a problem.

“The issue was basically just that my body was fighting off the baby,” Bailey said.

Dr. Jennifer Smith at Mercy Hospital discovered Zoey had problems with her blood, and lifesaving measures had to be taken to keep her alive in the womb.

“It is pretty rare. The underlying problem occurs in about 1 to 2% of pregnancies,” Smith said.

Smith began preparing for an in utero blood transfusion, which she said is very rare.

The doctor reached out to the Oklahoma Blood Institute to ask for a special type of blood.

“It was rare donors. These are donors that we test their blood and they have unique qualities in their blood,” CEO of the OBI Dr. John Armitage said.

With time running out, the OBI began reaching out to their special donors.

“We've got a team that calls up and asks those people to take time out of their day on short notice,” Armitage said.

The donors delivered, each giving a few minutes so Zoey could get a lifetime.

Officials at the Oklahoma Blood Institute said it’s a perfect example of what donating can do.

The next major blood drive for the OBI will be held the weekend of Dec. 28 at the State Fair Park.

All donors will receive a free Thunder ticket and Thunder shirt.