Bishop Kearney senior tells how blood transfusion saved her life

Maria Lieggi encourages Brooklynites to donate blood

May 29, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Maria Lieggi (left), pictured with her mother, also named Maria, spoke of the importance of blood donation at a dinner hosted by Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. Photo courtesy Bishop Kearney High School

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A Bishop Kearney High School senior says she’s living proof of the importance of donating blood.

Maria Lieggi, who is about to graduate from the all-girls Catholic high school in Bensonhurst, was one of the speakers at a recent reception hosted by Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens. She spoke about how a blood transfusion saved her life in 2014.

“In March 2014, I was rushed to the hospital and put into ICU with medical issues that spiraled out of control. I received a pint of blood from a generous donor. I did not know the person, but their gift of life is why I am here today,” she told the audience. “It certainly made everyone in my family realize how important our health is and never to take it for granted.”

Lieggi plans to pursue a career in the fashion industry and will be attending the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising.

“None of this would have been possible if someone, who I will probably never meet, did not take time out of their busy schedule to think of another human being and give them this gift. That person – and all of you –will never know what the one who receives your blood would have missed, if you had not taken the opportunity to run your drives and encouraged others to donate blood during them,” she told the audience.

Bishop Kearney High School, located at 2202 60th St., held its annual blood drive back in March.

Prior to the blood drive, Lieggi spoke to her classmates at a school assembly to encourage them to donate blood. Thanks to her motivation, students and teaches donated 57 pints of blood, according to school officials.

DiMarzio held the reception to salute the efforts of churches and schools in the diocese that had sponsored successful blood drives during the year.