Minnesota troopers delivering life-saving blood learn recipient is one of their own

The timely response of three Minnesota State Patrol troopers helped save the life of a southeastern Minnesota woman May 18 when she suffered a massive hemorrhage during her baby's emergency Caesarean section delivery.

At a news conference Thursday in the Twin Cities shared on YouTube, patrol Col. Matt Langer described the drama that unfolded when Lisa Jaeger, a vehicle fleet manager for the patrol, entered her 36th hour of labor and an emergency C-section was performed at the Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Red Wing. Unexpected bleeding during the procedure led to a major loss of blood, and Jaeger, who was at the news conference with her baby, Ryan, recounted how she could hear the doctors and nurses speaking to her, but couldn't respond.

The blood she needed was 45 miles away from the hospital. Upon the request of doctors, troopers Jesse Einhorn, Jacob Letourneau and Dau Yang delivered the blood in a relay between St. Paul and Red Wing, Langer said.

Doctors told Jaeger, who had been in labor for 36 hours before the C-section, that she might not have survived if the blood hadn't arrived so quickly. Langer said that about halfway through the relay, the troopers realized that they were making the run on behalf of one of their own colleagues.

Jaeger, 30, said she is now healthy and that she deeply appreciates the troopers, doctors and nurses who contributed to the effort. Ryan is a first child for Jaeger and her husband, Brent, who live in Cannon Falls.

Letourneau said, "I have done three blood runs so far. When I came to know that it's our own staffer, we took it more personally.

"I recently married and I thought about my wife in the same situation," he said. "So I went as quickly as I could."

Blood runs are requested by hospitals only when there is a massive loss of blood during an operation and the need becomes urgent, Langer said. Blood, plasma and platelets are among the vital cargo they convey.

So far this year, Minnesota troopers have made 34 deliveries in cases of emergencies, patrol statistics show.

Salman Yousafzai • 612-673-4487