Dana Zamrik from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was delighted to learn that she was expecting twins back in 2006.
The mum-to-be had a normal pregnancy and was feeling fine - until, suddenly, one day she just didn't feel right.
Shockingly, Dana was diagnosed as being critically anaemic, and because she wasn't producing enough blood to undergo surgery, the mum had to decide between saving herself or her babies.
“My heart was shutting down, my kidneys were shutting down, and my liver was shutting down,” Dana told WMBF News.
“If it were the twins to survive or you to survive, what do you choose? It’s one of those moments you sit there, you don’t believe it’s happening, but I had to make that decision, and of course, I said get the twins.”
24 hours later she had a blood transfusion, and received nine pints to bring her haemoglobin levels up to 11, according to WMBF News.
She could then safely deliver her twins, who spent two months in ICU following their birth.
Dana, who is now a mum to three girls, wants to spread awareness of the importance of blood donation.
"I will always tell my story just so we can help somebody else, because you never know,” she continued.
“It doesn't have to be something tragic. It could be something very happy, like we were having at the time."
Share so everyone is aware of the importance of donating blood.
