Event honors
blood donors

Two recipients of transfusions
thank donors at a luncheon

Janne Mason owes her life -- and the opportunity to be a mother to her daughter -- to a lot of people she will never meet.

Mason and Punchbowl shooting victim Eric Kawamoto shared their emotional stories and their gratitude to about 385 volunteer blood donors, blood drive coordinators and supporters yesterday at a recognition luncheon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Give the gift of life Residents 18 or older, in good health and weighing 110 pounds or more are encouraged to give blood to help meet the constant need. It takes about an hour, including some paperwork and a quick physical. The blood collection takes five to eight minutes. Whole-blood donors must wait eight weeks between donations. To make an appointment or obtain more information, call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 845-9966 or 800-372-9966 from the neighbor islands, or visit www.bbh.org.

"Because of you, I am here to be Riley's mom," Mason, 42, told the crowd. "Each of you made it possible for me to be here and watch Riley grow up. ... You are my heroes."

Mason told how on July 24, 2003, what should have been one of the happiest days of her life became a "dizzying nightmare" when, after giving birth, she unexpectedly began hemorrhaging and needed blood transfusions.

"I had just given life to my daughter, and mine was on the verge of being taken away."

She was transferred from Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children to the Queen's Medical Center for surgery and had more transfusions after a third hemorrhage and a dangerously low blood count. Mason was told later that doctors did not expect her to live, but she survived and thanked blood donors for making that possible.

Yesterday's Blood Bank of Hawaii event kicked off the 2005 Volunteer Blood Donor Month in Hawaii.

More than 28,000 donors contributed 57,000 pints of blood to the Blood Bank last year, a record in the bank's 64-year history, said Dr. Robyn Yim, the group's president and medical director. Each donation potentially can save up to three lives, she said.

Kawamoto, a 44-year-old electrical engineer, described how he was nearly killed in a shooting during the robbery of his Punchbowl home on June 26, 2003. His story was laced with humor, but he choked up when saying how the incident taught him to "really appreciate" his family, friends and the community.

Kawamoto said he had come home that day to find clothes scattered and "everything kind of messed up."

An intruder -- 18-year-old Miti Maugaotega, who was convicted of attempted murder -- popped out of the kitchen pointing a gun and threatening him, Kawamoto said.

After handing over his wallet with about $40, Kawamoto said he began looking at the gun and "kind of approached him, and he got a little scared and backed off."

Kawamoto said he walked toward the garage, and the teenager told him to walk to the bedrooms. "I thought if I go there, he's going to shoot me for sure. I told him, 'If you're going to shoot me, just shoot me.'

"He pulled the trigger and it went off. He said, 'No, I didn't mean it.' He hit me in the chest, and I dropped to my knees."

Kawamoto said he made it to his neighbor's house and yelled for her to call 911.

"You always hear, 'Make sure you wear clean underwear.' That is really true," he said with a laugh, explaining how his pants were removed in the ambulance, leaving him in his underwear.

Kawamoto was taken to Queen's trauma center with a lot of internal bleeding. He was hospitalized for six days. The .45-caliber bullet, which missed his heart by less than an inch, was pulled from his back the last day, he said.

Kawamoto said he is anxious to get off medications so he can be a blood donor. Mason said she plans to make blood donations part of her daughter's birthday observances on July 24.