Matt's Story

Matt Blackburn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on April 6th, 2021. Matt was life-flighted to UPMC Shadyside due to extremely low hemoglobin levels. During this time, he also discovered malignant cancer cells in his cerebrospinal fluid which required lumbar punctures of chemotherapy.

After many whole blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, and eight rounds of chemotherapy Matt started his remission journey. Almost instantly, he found a bone marrow donor, started further chemotherapy, and received additional blood transfusions.

Although his battle wasn’t over, he relapsed one year later and underwent more intense treatment. Thankfully, Matt is back in remission and sharing his story about how his transfusion helped him be here today.

Matt's daughter, Dr. Kaitlyn Blackburn, played a major role in helping her father get the treatments needed to recover. She even made apparel that helps support other patients and charitable organizations. If you would like to help advocate for individuals battling Leukemia and help Kaitlyn give back to the community, check out the link to her shop below: