Minnesota troopers make lifesaving delivery to woman giving birth

Last month, Minnesota troopers made critical delivery that helped save a Hutchinson woman’s life.

On July 21, Jenapher Blair was at Hutchinson Hospital giving birth to her daughter, Adalyn. While giving birth, she started bleeding excessively due to complications and the hospital didn’t have enough blood on hand for her.

The blood doctors needed was 80 miles away, so five Minnesota State troopers jumped into action, forming a relay between St. Paul and Hutchinson. One trooper rushed from a blood bank to a State Patrol flight crew at the St. Paul Downtown Airport, the flight crew then took it to Hutchinson Airport and handed the blood off to two troopers who rushed it to the hospital.

It took just 65 minutes for troopers to get the blood to Hutchinson.

On Tuesday, Blair, troopers and doctors shared the story of the effort that helped save Blair’s life.

"Everything was going so smoothly — until it wasn’t. If you guys weren’t there and hadn’t received that call, who knows what would have happened?" Blair said. "Thanks to you, my kids have their mom."

"Today, it’s a deep moment of pride," Col. Matt Langer, head of the State Patrol, said.

Doctors who helped care for Blair said she wouldn’t have survived if the blood hadn’t gotten there quickly and applauded the troopers’ work for leading to a good outcome.

"When time is of the essence, we call our amazing state troopers to make a blood run," Bob Bruce of the Minnesota Red Cross said. "In these situations, lives are truly on the line. This story shows the importance of blood donation. Every donation might be the one that saves a life."

The Red Cross also noted that there’s currently a severe blood shortage and great demand for blood at hospitals. Part of that is due to COVID-19 and also due to an increase in trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries. Anyone who is willing to give blood can make an appointment online.

"We were overjoyed when we heard Jenapher made it. Without all of us working as a team, today may not have been possible," Brett Stricker, one of the troopers involved in the relay, said.

The State Patrol says its troopers participate in about 60 to 90 "blood runs" each year.

In addition to Blair, her daughter was just fine, too.

"It was all a shock but we came through very well. Baby is just fine," Blair said. "Thank you for what you do for everyone. Maybe one of my kids will be a state trooper someday."