Our Origins

Save One Life was founded in 2000 by Laureen A. Kelley, a mother of a child with hemophilia who has witnessed first-hand the devastating and crippling effects of hemophilia in young children in developing countries. Laurie is the author of numerous parenting and children’s books on bleeding disorders, and president of LA Kelley Communications, Inc.

During her many trips to developing countries from 1996-2000 while educating patients about hemophilia, Laurie realized that more immediate help was needed. Her company began donating medicine to stop bleeds, and soon was donating millions of dollars worth. But she saw that patients also required funds for basic necessities: food, vitamins, school fees and transportation to clinics. Most patients Laurie encountered lived in households earning about $1 a day. Laurie believed that families with hemophilia in wealthier countries, with vast resources and adequate healthcare, would be willing to help once they understood the suffering of people with hemophilia in developing countries. Her idea was modeled after other child sponsorship agencies, in which sponsors would donate $20 per month to support an individual. But Save One Life went one step further than most organizations: 100% of donations goes directly to the sponsored child and his local chapter and not to overhead.

Save One Life now donates funds to over 550 families in nine countries. Save One Life works in partnership with the hemophilia foundations in the host country, whose members volunteer their care, time and resources to improve the lives of impoverished people with bleeding disorders.