Leila Ludy doesn’t love needles, but she loves saving lives. Every 56 days, she rolls up her sleeve and donates blood. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s important. Leila’s blood is rare, a powerful combination of type O negative and CMV negative. That makes her part of a small group of donors whose blood can be safely given to premature babies and infants with weakened immune systems. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that most people carry by age 40, but for babies, it can be deadly. CMV-negative blood is a lifeline for these tiny patients. Over the years, Leila has donated nearly 5 gallons of blood. But she didn’t realize the full impact of her donations until she met a mother whose baby’s life had been saved by Red Cross blood. “I felt like a freaking superhero!” Leila said. “I realized I wasn’t just donating blood. I was saving babies. I was giving families the chance to hold on to their children.” Now, Leila encourages others with type O negative blood to find out...